


15 Second Genocide

by Allegory_for_Hatred



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: COMPLETE!, Human Papyrus, Human Sans, Origin Story, kind of, lack of any coherent plot line, none of it really makes sense so far, so just hang in there I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-05-29 06:16:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 38,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6362830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allegory_for_Hatred/pseuds/Allegory_for_Hatred
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A human Sans falls into the underground and must try to find his way out alive. But wait a second--who is that goopy man following him around and why does everything feel so nostalgic? And who's this Papyrus fellow he keeps dreaming of?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What Was Terminated

**_"_** ** _Are you ready to begin_** ** _?"_**  

 

(start) 

    Sans dreamt in things that never happened. It was a disconcerting truth about him that he came to realize one night after a particularly vivid dream. When he thought back to it, beyond the images of young boy (his friend..?), the dream was relatively blank in his mind. Despite the life-like feel of his bond with the other boy, his life itself was little in the way of friendships. Sans wondered what the boy's name was. 

    For as long as Sans could remember, he'd been dreaming of a world he kept forgetting, a friend he always forgot, and a man he shouldn't have trusted. In his dreams, Sans was different. Not drastically so, but certainly there was something off about him. In his dreams, Sans' eye was... 

    Sans felt a dull throb begin to work its way into the base of his head at the thought of his eye. His left eye's appearance was a physical quirk that tended to bring about nervousness in others. At 14, Sans had realized that his classmates were quick to judge others on their appearances. His classmates briskly forgot about the severely overweight girl  in his mathematics class and they discarded the boy with a large birthmark that covered over half his face in favor of Sans. 

    It didn't take long for Sans' isolation to take place, and it certainly didn't help that Sans was the prime target for bullies everywhere. He preferred the metaphorical crippling loneliness to the physically crippling punishment the bullies could dole out. It was based on this philosophy that Sans was the final plug on any and all social communications (better to live alone than to hurt alone). His previous attempts to make friends had been dashed away by his personality, after all. As a child, Sans' grades had always been exceptional. He was particularly  attracted to the sciences (the nerdiest of all hobbies). Past his excellence in academics, the freshman was, in general, rather quirky. He'd go from spouting out puns for hours straight, to absolutely detesting them in one second flat.  In general,  Sans was an odd character. Though, ultimately, Sans found that it was his eye that was the main source of his teasing. 

    Sans' right eye, iris hazel and sclera white, was what one may consider a normal human eye. 

    Sans' left eye, iris an icy blue and sclera black as void, was certainly not. 

    One day, Sans had asked his mother why his eye looked the way it did. She'd looked at him skeptically, brow furrowed down into her nose. In that instant, it had appeared that thinking about the past had hurt her physically. 

    "Your eye," she'd said with a face scrunched up in pain or concentration, "wasn't always like that." 

    But she didn't expand on the thought and Sans didn't ask her to. His head was throbbing as if someone were screeching at him not to think about his odd eye. If Sans had one thing, it was integrity. 

    Not only was Sans left to wonder about his eye, but a series of other questions were perpetually percolating in the pit of his stomach. Why couldn't he remember anything before it hurt to think about his eye and the dreams? Were the dreams just dreams? Who was the boy? Was something wrong with him? 

    He hadn't a clue on how to answer any of the questions that had been bothering him (the last one), but everything was fine (something's not right).  In the end, Sans rationalized, he'd figure it out later. 

(stop) 

 

(start) 

    While sitting in the bright yellow bus on his way to school, Sans almost recalled his dream in a tired fog. His exhausted manner post-waking up on a school day typically prompted a brief nap just before classes started while on the way to the gray, prison-like building Sans affectionately called 'the lowest point in my life.' Low school as opposed to high school, one could say. I really (wasn't) was funny. 

    The dream came back foggy and wasn't very precise: 

    "Sans! You know I hate those stupid jokes of yours! Why can't y--" 

    "--plore, please? We won't go too far, I promise. We'll be back in time for Tor--" 

    "--this it? Push it open with me, will you? I, the Great Pap--" 

    The bus arrived at its destination with an angry honk. 

(stop) 

 

(start) 

    "Toby?" 

    "Here." 

    "Matthew?" 

    "Here." 

    "Papyrus?" 

    (…) 

    "Papyrus?" 

    (That name...) 

    Nervous titters of laughter raced around the freshman classroom. The teacher herself even had the audacity to don a muddled expression. Sans had previously wondered what sort of event occurred to create the name Papyrus in his teacher's mind, as this wasn't the first occasion during which she had called for the mysterious other-student. During that first occasion, the teacher, Mrs. Williams, had called for 'Papyrus' to answer a math problem. All the same, no answer was returned. 

    Sans glanced up at the teacher's bewildered expression at having made the same unusual mistake twice. 

    "Hey, teach, who's Papyrus?" 

(stop) 

 

(start) 

    Sans had once downed an entire bottle of pills just to stop his headache long enough for him to think. He almost overlooked the possibility that he could overdose and die (almost). (Un)Luckily for him, his mother had found him half delirious and rushed him to the hospital where, to Sans' discontent, a doctor Sinclair pronounced him suicidal. His mom had cried, all the while Sans just felt oddly perplexed. Suicidal? Him? No—he was just trying to quiet the raging headache inside his skull, was all. After explaining his reasoning, Dr. Sinclair had adopted an even more perturbed expression. 

(stop) 

 

(start) 

    He told himself it was the crushing loneliness. In reality, it was probably just his echoing headache, but one way or another, Sans had ended up hiking all the way to Mt. Ebott. 

    When he'd looked around and really taken in his surroundings, Sans noticed the small city below. Home. Maybe not _home_ home, though. Just a place to live—a place he called home out of obligation rather than emotional attachment. If the quiet little town below him was not home, then... the teenager began to question just where his home was. 

    The banging in the back of his head answered. 

(stop) 

 

(start) 

    There was a vine atop the mountain that caught on Sans' shoe as he walked past. Losing his balance, the wind whipped up his snowy hair and tossed it around. The hole below opened its greedy maw while the wind tried to push him back up. 

(stop) 

 

(start) 

    Something wasn't right. 

(stop) 

 

**_"Welcome back."_**


	2. What Was Returned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans falls into the underground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long! I'd originally planned to update with part two on Monday and part three today (Wednesday), but my computer started smoking and sparking and I had to get a new one. Hopefully I can get back on schedule now. <3
> 
> Anyway! This is a pretty tedious chapter that overall affects the plot line very little. This chapter is really just a means to move Sans through the underground rather than develope the plot. Sorry.

    (start) 

    Sans had woken up in a bed of golden flowers. 

    "What." 

    Sans had woken up in a bed of golden flowers some thirty feet underground. 

    "WHAT." 

    Sans had fallen (jumped) into some huge hole and landed in a bed of golden flowers some thirty feet underground. 

    "What in the world happened..?" 

    Sans had jumped into some huge hole and landed in a bed of golden flowers some thirty feet underground and lived (almost died). 

    "H-how--" 

    Sans had almost died. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    "Well, I'm feeling a bit _under_ the weather, but maybe I should look for a way out of this hole," the fallen child mumbled the words to themself. Just a few minutes earlier, Sans realized how close to death he had (wanted to) come. Though he didn't experience them often, Sans could best describe his reaction to near-death as a panic attack.  Just the memory of his heart pounding and sweat dripping off of his skin sent a shiver down Sans' spine. He took the liberty of taking a ten minute breather to collect his (mercifully quiet) thoughts before getting to his dusty feet and trying to look around again. 

    Unfortunately, Sans' index of his surroundings didn't yield much in the way of results. There was no apparent path that led directly back from where he'd fallen down, despite how much he searched. His heart began to pound a little harder in his chest at the thought of being trapped in this cave until death. 

    "Oh, wait a minute." 

_Great._ Now that he was speaking to himself, Sans felt that some level of urgency was required, but also was rather content with his revelation. While he'd been distracted with finding the quickest path directly up, the human child had overlooked a path just to his right. 

    (takethepathtakethepathtakethepath) 

    Sans took the path. 

    Shaking some golden flowers off of his shorts, Sans followed the charcoal colored path for a few hesitant seconds. At the end of the seemingly short path, a large door stood in his way. Sans couldn't call it a door, not really. It was more like a door _way_ , or a place where there was once an actual _door_ but someone had removed it (how odd). He was surprised that someone had fallen down into the cave before him, let alone long enough to carve out a door. 

    Nonetheless, Sans stepped through it and was mildly concerned with what he saw. All traces of light had vanished from the cave. His sight focused now solely on a patch of grass, the only illuminated thing in this part of the cavern. He thought it would look much more in place had a golden flower had been growing on it (good). 

    He could feel his heart pounding harder in his chest with each step he took towards the empty patch of grass (somehow growing despite no traces of light). Was this all there was to the caves? Was he really just trapped down here to die? Sans supposed he could eat the golden flowers, and they had to have some water to grow but... would anyone come looking for him? Would anyone save him (no)? 

    But as Sans made his way past the grassy strip of land, another doorway became visible. "Thank goodness," he sighed with an odd sort of relief. It was good, of course, that the path didn't end and maybe he could get out of the underground, but he still felt a twinge of fear. There was a light of purplish hue shining just beyond the portal. With a nervous certainty Sans realized what the light shining through the doorway meant. (Your not alone anymore) 

    The thought betrayed Sans, inadvertently making his movements a tad more unsure. He was  simultaneously pleased and frightened of the idea that someone else was trapped underground with him. While on the bright side, Sans would likely not be forced to starve to death all alone underground, he may also be faced with pugnastic creatures hell-bent on killing him. Sans shivered at the thought. 

    After a minute of contemplation, Sans pushed his way through the silent, but dreadful-still, doorway. More quiet, eeriness awaited him, it seemed. The path illuminated into some purple-bricked room, split by dual staircases. A pile of red leaves sat inexplicably just between the two diverging staircases. 

    Something bright was shining among the blood red leaves. Sans' head began pounding once more, so he tore his eyes away from the sight. Curious, but hesitant still, Sans walked blindly towards the small star. Something about the light filled him with determination. The screaming in his head disagreed. 

    The shadow of the ruins loomed above, filling Sans with uncertainty. 

    He tried his best to ignore the pit of doubt growing in his stomach as he marched up the left-most path.There was another doorway at its peak, and though the sign above it was too high to read, something in Sans already knew what it said. It appeared, in hindsight, that either staircase would have led him to the next door. Sans was beginning to get the distinct feeling that a needlessly long path lie before him. 

    In the end, Sans had been right. The room that followed held within it a puzzle that Sans solved after reading the sign to its left. He'd glanced over the sign (don't step on the middle buttons) and simply _knew_ the answer. Not instantly, of course, but almost naturally. The teen blamed his quick thinking. His headache begged to differ. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    The next room had seemed painfully easy. So much so, that Sans debated the possibility that it was some sort of trap. Pulling levers seemed easy enough, but they were actually labeled? The human was hesitant to actually pull the levers because of some sort of ingrained distrust in him. In the end, he'd still pulled the levers that he had been directed to out of morbid curiosity. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    Soon after, Sans came to another puzzle. He found the purple road blocked by a bridge of spikes. This puzzled, compared to all the others so far, proved to be the most deadly. 

    He took a moment to think his plan of actions through before following the correct path to the other side. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    The room that followed was long. Sans grew doubtful of his automatic trust of the puzzle-maker. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    Playfully crinkling through the leaves filled Sans with dread. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    It was about halfway through the pillar room that Sans encountered another... creature. It looked enough like a monster to be called one, and something about the title 'monster' seemed befitting to the frog before him. 

    It croaked at him and cocked its head at his fluttering heartbeat and nervous trembling. As the first monster Sans had encountered thus far, he was unsure of how to act. Run? The thrumming of his heart certainly agreed. (Fight) 

    "Hey there—uh—frog?" Sans asked after a moment. 

    It was hardly a second that had past, but the frog leapt forward in something that seemed forceful enough to be an attack of sorts. Sans squealed in an undignified manner, ducking below the frog's pounce. He waited for its next move but—After a moment of waiting, Sans came to the realization that the monster frog was waiting for him. 

    Unsure of what to do, Sans croaked out, "Why are frogs always happy? They eat whatever bugs them!" It wasn't his best and, to be honest, was a bit overused at this point. But he was stressed and panicking and he doubted a frog would even understand. 

    It didn't, but was pleased anyway. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    Sans continued on. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    A tall black tree stood before him, gnarly, dead branches twisting into the stony ceiling above him. A pit of anxiety wormed its way into San's heart, and only grew at the distinct smell of pie. It was a strangely nostalgic scent. The fallen human crinkled the leaves as they walked past the dead tree and the air went still. 

    "Hello? Is someone out there?" 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the ruins filled Sans with fear. 

    (stop) 

 

**_"You'll have to pay better attention next time, won't you?"_**  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Next chapter should be out on Friday if I stay on schedule! <3
> 
> AfH


	3. What Was Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Toriel.

    (start) 

    Sans felt the air the room grow still and his heart speed up. 

    "Hello?" The voice called again from somewhere within the house, "Napstablook, is that you?" Sans scrambled to think to think of an escape plan, but the monster seemed friendly enough. He couldn't see her, not yet at least, but her voice had grown louder as she spoke. Her voice was a friendly one, kind in the way that a mother is kind to her child. It was protective and loving and warm but also cautious. Something about the voice from within the house made Sans' heart clench. 

    He tried to move, but his feet were rooted to the ground. He blamed his inability to escape on the voice's soothing tone, but his head had begun pounding to a higher degree the more he thought about how gentle and sweet and-- 

    "Oh my!" Sans' heterochromal eyes widened. Out of the house in the ruins a large, hulking form appeared. It towered over the human's naturally short stature, but the figures bulky presence seemed to be more a physical trait than an intimidation factor in their character. "A human child? How did you get past all the puzzles, my child?" 

    She was still talking, but Sans was finding it difficult to understand her words. The monster's form had worked its way out of the cavern's shadows, the unnatural light coloring her figure white and purple. Wait a minute, was this creature a— 

    "Oh you have _goat_ to be _kidding_ me right now." 

    Seriously the monster was a goat. A literal, bipedal _goat_. 

    The goat monster wore a confused expression for moment before her face cleared with understanding. A large paw (shouldn't goats have hooves?) rose to her face to cover her mouth. At first, Sans had thought she was crying, but after a brief period of time, Sans realized that the goat was laughing. 

    "Oh! Hahahaha!" Her laughter like bell chimes, the goat monster shook with glee. When her laughter quieted down, she gestured towards Sans' blue eye, " _Eye see_ what you did there." 

    He felt like the joke should upset him, seeing as the goat mom had just made fun of his appearance (in the nicest way possible), but he started laughing along with her. It felt good to laugh so honestly after all the stress that the underground had brought to him so far. He chuckled along with the monster until she spoke again. 

    "I’m glad to see you are alright, but I must ask: how did you make it through all of those puzzles unharmed? Did the other monsters help you?" She asked innocently. Sans realized how much age was reflected in her tone when she skeptically continued with her questioning, "Was it one of the ghosts that visit sometimes?" 

    Sans simply shrugged, unsure of how to answer the question. He had skirted by most of the puzzles simply by what he figured was luck. On the bright side, Sans was glad his assumption that the creatures of these ruins were monsters was correct. 

    "Ah, well, I suppose it doesn't matter now." She seemed happy as she moved a step closer to Sans. He did not move away. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. May I ask your name?" 

    "I'm Sans," the fallen human stuck his hand out for Toriel to shake, "Sans the human." 

    Toriel's own hand enveloped Sans' own with its meaty grip, but they both smiled nonetheless. "You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come, small one! I have just finished baking a pie, if you would like to join me." 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    After Toriel invited Sans inside, he decided to do some investigating. Her sweet voice and kind approach was reassuring, sure, but Sans still felt some level of distrust. In general, Sans thought he was doing pretty well adjusting to life beside the monsters he thought were only in storybooks. This didn't change the fact that he was still anxious about the situation as a whole, however. 

    The first room in the house Sans had seen was empty save a staircase that went only down. He supposed that given the situation, the staircase probably couldn't go up unless it broke to the surface above. At first, Sans had made a move towards the stairs, but Toriel's watchful eye persuaded him to follow her for a bit longer. 

    She led him into what he could only describe as a living room next. A large, soft chair beside a fireplace was seated only by a large yellow tome and a large pair of glasses. Toriel had been reading just before his leaf-announced arrival, Sans figured. A table topped by some dying plant caught his attention. Surrounding it's rectangular length, three chairs of varying sizes. It felt like something was missing from this picture (three somethings were). Toriel was watching him and the fallen child hoped that his eyes hadn't lingered too long. 

    "Take a seat, my child. I'll go get you a slice of my snail pie," Toriel spoke softly, a twinge of sadness in her tone as she tore her own eyes away from the table. 

    "Okay... Wai—!" _Snail_ pie?! Sans had thought she'd meant apple or blueberry or something else that wasn't a mollusk. Toriel had already moved into the kitchen, where Sans noticed a checkered floor just below Toriel's large paws. 

    When she returned a moment later, plate in hand, Sans had not yet seated himself at the table. Something about the chairs seemed more ceremonial than anything else. She wore a mildly confused expression, but handed him the pie anyway. Sans cringed. 

    "Do you not like the pie?" She said, reaching out towards the plate, "I'm afraid snail is the only flavor I have at this _slime_." 

    He readily let her take back the plate, chuckling at her pun before looking around the room for a bit, "It's okay, Toriel, but you should really _escar-go_ make some more pies." 

   They laughed for hours. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    After that, Toriel had settled down to read. It took some convincing to actually get the goat monster to calm down enough to let him out of her sight. For some reason, she'd had it in her mind that he'd wanted to leave her alone in the ruins. Sans thought it was borderline hilarious. Him? Leave? No way. He was exhausted from his mental and physical battle to get past all the puzzles. They ended up chatting for a bit before Toriel pointed out a room Sans could use for sleeping. He reassured her he'd stay before walking in. 

    The room was that of a child, that much was obvious. The revelation was both reassuring and frightening at the same time. Toriel was a mother, like Sans had guessed, but it also raised the question of what happened to the child. 

    Everything was colored a tomato red that actually hurt Sans' eyes if he looked around to much. Instead, he focused in on what he could see. There were various toys strewn about the room in a child-like manner and a plush bed rested up against the far wall. Sans made a bee-line towards the bed. 

    The second his head touched the pillow, he was out like a light. 

    (stop) 

 

_'I don't know, Pap. Are you sure it’s a good idea to leave the ruins..? Toriel always said--'_  

_"_ _It'll be fine_ _brother, now_ _i_ _s_ _this it? Push it open with me, will you? I, the Great Pap_ _yrus, can't do all the heavy_ _lifting_ _around here! Nyehehe!_ _"_  

 

    (start) 

    When Sans woke up, he'd already forgotten his dream and his head throbbed a little bit stronger. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    Toriel had let Sans sleep in late through the next day, and Sans was thankful for that. He'd woken up various times of the night after what felt like a bad dream (but he couldn't remember, thankfully). His heart had pounded and a feeling of overwhelming sadness had washed over him. When Toriel came to wake him up that morning, she'd found him sitting up in the bed struggling for sleep. 

    After that, both human and monster silently agreed that Sans come out of the room. 

    "So..." She began over something Sans assumed was meant to be his breakfast, "You couldn't sleep well?" 

    Sans shrugged and huffed out a breath of air, "It's probably just the new surroundings." It had seemed probable enough at the time. Going from breathing fresh air was entirely different, Sans had learned, than breathing the musty air of the underground. The air that monsters breathed in. 

    Toriel nodded, seemingly just as pleased with the explanation as Sans was. They had the rest of their breakfast in relative silence. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

   The stairs seemed to be calling to him. 

    (stop)

 

    _ ** "This is achoice you won't regret, dear Sans."**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked if the (stop) and (start) referred to Sans' headaches, and while the stop/start narration is linked to the headaches, they do not signify when the headaches begin/end. I'll get around to answering that a few chapters from now. Hang in there /3
> 
> Next update Monday
> 
> AfH


	4. What Was Left Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toriel is still a goat monster and Sans is just doing his thing.

    (start) 

    And the stairs kept calling to him. 

    Not literally (he didn't think), but whenever Sans walked by the stairs, it seemed as though the mystery (knowledge) of what lay beyond them was beckoning him forward. He hadn't been with Toriel long, two days at Sans' count, but he still wondered. That curiosity only grew. 

    "Hey, Toriel?" Sans asked the second afternoon when they had settled down in front of the perpetually burning fire, "where do the stairs lead? The ones right in front of the door?" 

    Toriel appeared slightly put off by the question, "They lead outside of the ruins." Sans could read the struggle of truth over opinion over her face, truth winning out in the end, "But you should never go beyond the ruins, Sans. It's dangerous." 

    For all his faults, Sans was good at understanding when someone wished him well, and Toriel certainly did. The fallen human decided to trust Toriel. "Okay," he finally replied, toying with the fray of his jacket, "okay." 

    The goat monster was content, if just for a while. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    Sans realized it was not the stairs that had been calling him so strongly. The headache that dully roared in the back of his skull protested that it was something beyond Toriel's stairs. Sans was inclined to listen. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    And so he did. 

    When Sans wandered over to his new room that night, he wandered with a plan. It was a devious one, so much so that he debated actually going through with it. His doubt urged the surge of his head onward. 

    He settled into his room, laying down on the bed, but not resting (not yet). Sans had only a vague understanding of when Toriel went off to bed, but it was enough to keep him lying awake through the night himself. 

    An hour passed, and Sans heard the shuffling of heavy paws near his door. They shuffled and shuffled and shuffled until they didn't anymore. Until they rested outside San's door. He paused, heart thundering loudly. The doorknob moved slightly, as if the open-er had wanted to see inside without Sans' knowledge. 

    In an act of panic, Sans flung the blanket over his head, turned away from the door, and shut his eyes tightly. The shuffling of Toriel's paws grew closer to him than ever before. He forced his body to relax as carefully as possible, but the headache echoing in his skull was still screaming its desire to leave. To leave Toriel. To leave the ruins. To leave to—he wasn't sure where to (he was certain exactly where he needed to go). But the paw steps halted altogether before turning around and leaving. The door shut behind Sans with a reassuring click. 

    He let out a breath of all the relief he didn't actually feel. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    With that, Sans had figured Toriel had gone off to bed. He'd ended up waiting an extra hour just be sure, all to his headache's protest. 

    Sans found it odd that his head began to pound more in certain situations, but chalked it up to some sort of stress headache. As he was now, Sans was incapable of figuring it out, anyway. 

    He felt like he was slipping. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    And he probably was. Not physically, though. Physically, Sans was as stealthy as shadow (or something else stealthy that snuck around in other people's homes). 

    "Like a thief." Sans quietly agreed with the thought.

    Sans was rather proud of how quietly he'd edged around Toriel's ruin house. He could hardly hear his own steps. He probably wouldn't be able to hear the dull echo of his feet at all had he not been hyper-aware of the contrasted silence around him. 

    But the sound of his footsteps abruptly ended when he could see the staircase sitting before him. It led down, just as he'd remembered. The call to it was even stronger than before. Sans edged closer to it, slowly and steadily, but still unsure in his steps. 

    Sans' foot pushed down on the first step in utter silence. The second followed suit. The third. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth— _creeeeeeak_ _. And Sans' thoughts stilled._  

_She might have not heard,_ Sans wondered hopefully, _Toriel might be sound asleep._ But the boy knew better than to think so optimistically, because despite Toriel's kind advice, he couldn't just turn back now. Sans couldn't just promise not to leave the ruins because he was losing himself and only a third of him knew it (It just so happened that the enlightened part was eager to move forward). 

    Something shifted behind the fallen human and Sans vaulted down the remaining steps. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    He was still sprinting down the long corridor (albeit out of breath) when he heard the call behind him. 

    "Sans! My child! Do not go down this path!" Toriel called out, predictably, "Go to your room!" 

    She all at once seemed far too forceful, and Sans pushed his limits and ran faster, to his legs protest. He thought of Toriel and her blight. She was the mother without her child and the wife without her husband. Sans instantly felt pity. What good would it do, really? Running as he was, Sans was really just giving himself the death penalty and giving Toriel the same emptiness she surely had before. (keep running) 

    But Sans could stop and help her he could-- 

    (KEEP RUNNING) 

    --take away some of that loneliness maybe even-- 

    (keeprunningkeeprunningkeeprunningkeeprunning) 

    --keep running. 

    Sans was losing something and it wasn't his love for Toriel. 

    (stop) 

 

    (Sans was gaining something and wasn't his love for anyone) 

 

    (start)

    Toriel was much faster than she appeared. Or perhaps Sans was just as slow as he appeared to be, and Toriel could just run at the average pace that Sans never could. Sans halted utterly when the furry lump of a hand Toriel had reached out with gripped onto his shoulder. His body shook. 

    "My child, what are you doing? Are you planning to leave the ruins?" She asked, a lilt of uncharacteristic anger touching her tongue. 

    He didn't respond, too shaken up. What _had_ he been doing? Sans hadn't planned to escape, that much was proven by his inability to do it quietly. Furthermore, what prompted the wording of 'escaped?' He certainly wasn't being held captive. Toriel's and his arrangement was more of a hospitable and loving one rather than one against his will. While he pondered her question, Toriel had taken his silence as a means to speak. 

    "You want to leave so badly?" Toriel grunted in something like consent, "There is only one solution to this." 

    The goat monster pushed her way before Sans, blocking the door he had overlooked, despite its grandeur. "Prove yourself. Prove to me you are strong enough to survive." 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    Toriel blocked the way. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    Instantly, a barrage of fireballs was launched Sans' way. Unprepared as he was, a wave of the flaming attacks struck him in his side. He cried out in pain and fear, but his health stayed strong enough (11/20). 

    Stronger still was his (determination) desire to move forward. He tried to speak to Toriel, perhaps to plead for her to stop, but he couldn't think of any conversation topics. Sans tried to show the mother mercy. 

    She looked right through him and appeared to prepare some sort of magical attack. 

    "Please," Sans pleaded, begging for not himself but for the dull roaring of his headache, " _please,_ Toriel. You don't understand. I need to leave the ruins. I need to leave the underground." 

    "….. ....." Toriel looked right through him whilst creating wave upon wave of fireballs. 

    The flames lit up holes in Sans' jacket and a voice whispered to him to be more careful (5/20). Sans wanted nothing more than to not fight the monster before him, but she stood strong. Was his only option to..? 

    Toriel looked confused by Sans' lack of action. The fallen human took that as  win of sorts. She continued to attack him, though by then Sans had worked out a general idea of how Toriel's attacks were choreographed. He dodged all of the bullets launched his way. Toriel's eyes widened minutely in surprise. 

    "What are you doing?" Mumbled between strikes, Sans managed to catch Toriel's words just barely, "Attack or run away!" 

    Sans dodged her attacks, stoney look on his face. 

    "What are you proving this way?" Toriel asked, taking a breath, "Fight me or Leave! Stop it!" 

    But Sans refused. 

    "Stop looking at me that way," she said after a moment to charge up an attack. 

    Sans hardly had to move to dodge the flames. 

    Toriel looked torn, "Go away! 

    Sans stopped dodging. 

    "I know you want to go home but... but please... go upstairs now. I promise I will take good care of you here." The heartbroken goat monster smiled hesitantly, but there was something knowing hidden within it, "I know we do not have much, but we can have a good life here. Why are you making this so difficult? Please, go upstairs." 

    Toriel had just started laughing mournfully as Sans pushed the door closed behind him. 

    (stop) 

 

**     "We don't have all the time in the world, Sans." **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rather like how this chapter came out.  
> Next update should be on Wednesday if I keep up with my schedule.
> 
> AfH


	5. What Was Travelled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans takes a nap.

    (start) 

    The door thudded shut behind him, but Sans could still hear the broken hearted sobbing of Toriel. In its own way, Sans' heart broke as well. He fell to his knees and let out a sigh he knew Toriel wouldn't be able to hear (over her own wailing). Knees pulled up to his chest, the fallen human let their face fall into their hands. The heat of being pressed up into himself was oddly reassuring. 

    Speaking of warmth, Sans was very _very_ cold. It was an odd piece of knowledge that struck him suddenly and harshly, cutting the air out of his lungs. He moved one of his hands off of his eyes, the other one soon to follow in shock. 

    Outside the ruins was a snowy expanse, cold in the way that a cave might be if it were (incidentally) filled with snow. Row upon row of tall, woody trees lined a path straight forward. Sans was hesitant to follow it. 

   A choked out sob sounded from behind him. 

    Sans figured he could move forward a bit further. 

    He pushed off with his feet, aching strangely. Sans had nearly forgotten about his burns until a wince forced a shudder up his spine. He took a few hesitant steps forward before tugging at his jacket's sleeve. A few holes had been torn into it, black around the edges. Below the jacket was a red, wet-looking mesh of skin. The human let out a rough, rumbling breath. He hadn't felt the stinging, burning skin or smelled the smoky, burnt meat until then. He assumed it was adrenaline or shock or something else that wasn't making him stop hurting anymore. 

    "O-oh my g--" Sans cried out in pain. His blue jacket squelched grossly as he pulled it off of his charred skin. It was arguably the worst pain he'd ever felt, pulling his flesh apart as he was. Sans' entire body ached. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and scream the pain away, but as he looked around, the snowy expanse was all that lie before him. 

    Toriel had warned him outside the ruins was dangerous. Sans was worried of what could be more dangerous than the third degree burns Toriel had left him with. 

    Though his legs were trembling with each step, Sans managed to walk over to the line of trees that disappeared somewhere above. He leaned against one for support. The line of trees seemed to spread on forever. The fallen human moved forward. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    And the path continued. It certainly felt like it went on for a while, at least in Sans' opinion, but in reality he'd only come a little ways before his path was cut off. 

    It was an odd sort of thing that broke the road: a hole. It wasn't large, but Sans had to stop to contemplate how the earth could just drop away like it had. He imagined a bridge would be nice in its spot. In fact, it appeared as though there had been a bridge at one point, as little wooden slabs stuck out of the ground at odd angles. With fear, Sans came to the conclusion that the bridge had broken from underneath someone. 

    Leaning forward, Sans took a peak at what was at the bottom of the sudden hole. Darkness met him. It was endless and foggy in a way that Sans figured was unimportant but was actually just mildly terrifying. 

    The hole stretched only a few feet, but Sans, short as he was, wasn't sure he could make the jump across. In general, Sans really didn't have the energy to make any sort of jump at the moment. His legs were shaking and the red burns that marred his skin demanded more attention than he was giving them. 

    There was a slim path just to Sans' left that he contemplated for a few moments before approaching. It was maybe big enough for him to walk along, but seeing as it was pressed up tightly against the row of impenetrable trees, Sans wasn't so sure he could make it. 

    Sans ended up taking a step on to the slim path and hopping the rest of the way to the other side. The snow, thank goodness, gave him enough traction not to slip, but he still crumbled to the snowy floor when he reached the other side. 

    "Crap," he whined, muscles aching as they crashed into the ground. Despite the aches, the burns felt somewhat better for a second on the cold snow (the relief won't last long, burns should be kept under something warmer). 

    "If your so smart, how about _you_ come and help me." Sans grumbled angrily. Unknowingly. 

    The wind replied and Sans pushed himself to his feet with a pained grunt. His feet dragged behind him, leaving snaking trails behind him as he walked. Luckily, it seemed, the small, snowy road expanded into an alcove of sorts. There wasn't much in the opening save for some sort of sentry station. He hesitantly stepped towards it. 

    The fallen human contemplated the possibilities of the station. On the upside, he could rest; it had a roof that might protect him from some of the snow and wind. On the downside, he'd have to wait to heal his burns and whatever monster typically stood there might find him.  

    On the upside, Sans was very tired. 

    On the downside, Sans was _very_ tired. 

    He stumbled over to the station and closed his eyes. 

    (stop) 

 

    (wake up, Sans) 

 

    (start) 

    Sans woke up. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    He saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was dark and nondescript in all its fleetingness, but frightening nonetheless. Freshly woken up, Sans shifted behind the post, peeking out from under the shade to search for whatever may have seen him. Sans saw nothing. 

    His body ached from the odd sleeping position, but other than the tell that it had been at least a few hours judging by his body's stiffness, Sans had no real idea of how long he'd slept. The lightness of this cavern didn't appear to be affected by the time of day. Sans figured that made sense, being in a cave as he was. He still wasn't even sure how a cave could have snow or light or _monsters_ for that matter. 

    The general consensus was that Sans was confused. And hurt. And (not) alone. And cold. And tired. And talking to himself. And his head was still pounding. 

    Slowly and shakily, the fallen human got to his feet and looked around. No monsters were in sight, and that was reassuring enough. Sans didn't know his situation all that well, but he knew enough to get the sense that it wasn't a good one. He also knew that avoiding monsters was probably his best bet at this point. 

    Sans stumbled out of the sentry station in hopes of getting somewhere a little bit safer and a little bit warmer. It seemed to be just his luck that neither of these things happened next. 

    The first thing to happen was as follows: The road split apart into two paths. 

    The second thing to happen was as follows: One road was a dead end, the other had a set of monster tracks, and the path behind Sans had a hulking figure. 

    The third thing to happen was as follows: Sans ran. 

    (stop running) 

    It just so happened that Sans had picked the road that led straight ahead. The one with the monster tracks. The thought was concerning, of course, but he was more concerned with the figure behind him. It didn't make noise at all, which was perhaps the most concerning part of the whole situation. Sans was unsure if it was following him. 

    While he sprinted forward, Sans pondered the idea that the monster behind him had been working at the sentry station. He toyed with the thought that the worker had seen him sleeping at his station. Sans contemplated the question of how long the monster had been watching him. 

    When he snuck a glance over his shoulder, the air seemed heavy, but nothing was there. 

    (stop) 

 

    (You got that paranoia from me) 

    [He wasn't happy about it.] 

 

    (start)

    When Sans stopped running, it was not because he was comfortable with the situation, but because his legs ached and his arm throbbed. He had sprinted past, without real knowledge of it, a sentry station and another small opening that appeared to be a soon-to-be sentry station. Sans was pleased to learn they, too, were empty. He was not pleased to know someone was now following him.  

    Surrounded now by more trees, Sans realized the floor turned to ice below his feet. In all honesty, he was unsure of how he was standing up straight at the moment. When he took a step forward, Sans was sent spiraling to the other side of the opening. It would probably have been inconvenient had Sans not intended originally to go forward. The human was not looking to explore at this point. 

    Sans limped onward. 

    (stop) 

 

    (let's try this again) 

 

    (start) 

    Sans had crossed over the small bridge. 

    The figure crossed, too. 

    (---) 

 

**_"Now then..."_**  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly didn't plan out the events for this chapter (or the following, for that matter). Sorry if this chapter came out poorly, I knew I needed to get Sans to Snowdin town, but I hadn't decided what happened on the way, so I just threw this together. 
> 
> AfH


	6. What Was Listening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things are vaguely explained and Sans is still walking.

    (---) 

    (Sans.) 

    (Turn around.) 

 

    It was an echoing sort of sound in the way that one's thoughts might bounce around in their head. Sans was hesitant to turn around. He'd heard the voice, asking in a tone that wasn't quite polite but didn't touch angry. It was a request, Sans figured. 

    He didn't think about it much, honestly. Sans heard the voice in his mind and something about it demanded he listen. (He'd been listening for a long time without really noticing it) 

    "Have I been?" Sans asked. Calm. Knowing without really understanding. 

    (Yes. Now turn around, Sans.) 

    The fallen human did so with little complaint. Sans pivoted quickly, thankfully not losing traction on the snow underfoot. Some white, frosty bursts of air lifted up when he fully turned to face the voice that spoke within him. 

    It was the figure, Sans realized. The dark one he'd seen at the post and just afterwards. The figure, it was male he guessed, was tall and dark. Dark, not in color, but in general. It was like all the world's shadows combined to make the man. They might as well have, for the man before Sans was just as shapeless as one. His figure was best described as goopy; melting then reforming itself over and over again. The only thing that remained intact was what looked like a mask. The 'mask' was pure white, though cracked where Sans imagined the eyes may normally extend. The man was smiling an unsettling smile that was all his own. 

"You've been following me." Was Sans' reply. When Sans thought about it, he found it odd that the man before him felt familiar. Familiar, not in the way that passing strangers might be, but familiar in the way that twins might be. 

    (I have been following you for a very long time. You have just not taken the time to notice it.) 

    Sans squinted at the hazy man before him and tried to think back. Had he met this goopy man before? He was fairly confident that he hadn't but... his head was starting to hurt. 

    The man's smile twitched in an odd way, (How are you enjoying the underground, Sans?) 

    "How are you speaking in my thoughts?" Sans asked instead, "Why not just talk out loud, like a normal person? Or monster, I guess..?" 

    The goopy man was not put off by the question. Rather, it seemed, he was pleased with the observation. The form glitched forward a few paces closer to Sans, (Speaking verbally takes quite a bit of energy I am not currently in possession of.) 

    Sans was confused, certainly, but oddly enough, was not afraid. The monster existing before him was terrifying in its own right, but Sans was content. He wondered why, but didn't ask. "Why?" 

    (That is a very open-ended question, Sans. But to answer your question, I simply am. It is not of importance to you quite yet.) 

    After a pause, Sans shrugged in answer to a question that was never asked. Something wet dripped down Sans' cheek and the goopy man was gone. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    Sans reached a hand up to his cheek in confusion. His fingers came away sticky and black. He cringed. "Ew, what the heck is this stuff..?" Sans thought about the strange figure (his headache grew) and the goopy looking black stuff he was made out of. The stuff on his face seemed similar enough, which was a discomforting realization on its own. Reaching his hand up again after wiping it on his pants, Sans traced the slimy black fluid to its point of origin. 

    The black goop was spilling from his left eye. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    So Sans had panicked. He hadn't screamed or anything, he was far too exhausted for trivial things like that, but he did spend a fair amount of time wiping at his left eye and choking on the air. He thought it improbable, but it felt like the darkness in his eye was trying to escape, spilling out as it was. 

    He wasn't entirely wrong, but the black liquid that was spilling from his eye made it hard to care. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    He figured it was time to move on. He'd just been standing in the snow for a while now. Sans couldn't determine just how long he'd been standing out on that bridge, but it seemed to be at least a half an hour. 

    As he began walking down the snow covered path, Sans thought. He thought about the goopy man that was apparently watching his every move and he thought about his left eye and how it had just been crying out some strange black liquid. Mercifully, the darkness that bled from his eye had stopped shortly after it had begun. 

    He thought about it and walked until he realized just how far he had walked. It wasn't a surprise, entirely. The road, though impossible to see, led a relatively straight path. When it turned, there tended to be but one choice, the other typically going on a few yards before dead-ending. 

    Sans wasn't sure what was at the end of this path but he couldn't go back to the ruins (not anymore). 

    He thought the road seemed barren. Like it was missing something vital. "Maybe it’s the monsters," the fallen human asked the wind, thinking about their encounter with a frog in the ruins. No such monster(s) were out in this forest tonight. Or today. Sans was really kind of clueless in this sort of situation. 

    The path was really quite silent. That realization was frightening on its own. He couldn't be sure why, but he had the distinct feeling that this path should be crawling with monsters wanting to fight him. Technically, Sans was considerably better off if no monsters were on the path, anyway. He took what little he could get. 

    When Sans looked up from the snow pooling around his shoes, he saw a sentry post. It appeared to be empty as well. He was equal parts glad and anxious. 

    (stop) 

 

    (start) 

    But Sans kept walking. He didn't want to let the uneasiness of the underground get to him. The air was stiff, sure, but it's silence gave Sans a moment to think. 

    He thought about the man that had been following and realized that he'd never been given a name. It was odd, but understandable, seeing as Sans had never asked. A thought arrived to Sans that was a mixture of terror and contentedness. For one, the man had known Sans' name without him having to say it. How did the man know, Sans wasn't sure. For some reason, Sans was okay with the arrangement. Though he couldn't deny his curiosity over the man. 

    "Hey, uh," Sans started. He was getting a bit lonely, following the empty path, "You there, bud?" 

    The wind whistled back. After a moment of silence, Sans felt rather than heard the tell-tale, (I'm always here. What can I do for you, Sans?) 

    Sans wasn't really sure and he guessed the figure knew that, too. Instead of antagonizing him, Sans steadily replied, "What's your name, anyway? And how do you know my name?" 

    (My name? You can just call me Doctor,) the figure responded after a moment's pause, (As for my knowledge of your name, I already told you: I've known you for quite a bit longer than you have known me.) 

    Sans glared at the snowy expanse before him where he imaged the goopy figure might stand. The mass wasn't there, of course, choosing rather to simply  speak to him via thought. "Okay, I guess. But what does that mean, Doc?" 

    The voice hesitated, (You and I are very alike, Sans.) He sounded like he was laughing at an inside joke only he was privy to. Sans could almost hear the doctor's smile reaching his eyes in amusement. (How long do you intend to stall? Once you cross this bridge,) San's eye was drawn to the long, wooden bridge before him as the doctor redirected the conversation, (You will reach a small town called Snowdin. You can heal your burns there, if you'd like.) 

    Sans would very much like to, he explained to the man before stepping forward anxiously. The bridge wavered beneath him, shaking his back and forth with each new step. He thought about sprinting across, but feared that in running he would shake the bridge even more so than it already was. 

    He walked the bridge one slow step at a time. At the end of the bridge was a town filled with troubles. 

    (---) 

 

**_"_ ** **_Please prepare_ ** **_yourself_ ** **_accordingly._ ** **_"_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter. Honestly, Sans was supposed to be in Snowdin by now jeeeeze.  
> Anyway, enjoy. If anyone has any good puns about snow or fire I would gladly accept them
> 
> AfH


	7. What Was Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Snowdin and making a new friend.

    The sign to Sans' left proudly declared, "Welcome to Snowdin!" There was a good amount of puns Sans could come up with just based on the town's name. The fallen human was pleased with this thought. 

    He wasn't content for long. When Sans tore his eyes away from the sign, he realized the town was completely devoid of life. He had the distinct feeling that something was very wrong. Despite the eeriness of the silent town, Sans was somewhat pleased. He hadn't learned much from Toriel due to his abrupt exit, but he got the idea that most monsters didn't take well to humans. 

    Sans thought about war. (He wasn't sure why) 

    "Thanks for the input." The fallen human grumbled into the still air. He still wasn't sure why, but the doctor had been thinking to him a lot more lately. Or maybe it was just that what Sans thought was his subconscious was actually a goopy monster that was stalking him. 

    (I'm not stalking you, Sans.) the doctor retorted sharply, a hint of annoyance pestering his tone, (I'm observing.) 

    That didn't really clear anything up for Sans, but he didn't voice this aloud. The doctor probably already knew. 

    Either way, Sans started walking through the town. It was dead silent, but Sans got the feeling he was being watched (more so than usual). He passed a shop, thought about entering, but decided better of it just yet. 

    Something shiny blocked his path. He realized with dreadful certainty that it was the same star shape from before that had filled him with uncertainty. His headache grew, but Sans still watched the shining form with morbid curiosity. 

    The sight of such an empty town filled Sans with sadness. (…) 

    Just past the little shop Sans had passed was an Inn. He contemplated stopping in and asking for help. His arm still stung (it had gone numb a while ago) and his legs ached from walking, but he was still hesitant to trust the monsters. Not that he even had the chance. No one even appeared to be in the town. 

 

    (---) 

 

    There were footprints in the snow. 

    (Be careful, Sans. It appears there is another monster about.) 

    Sans sighed out a breath and let out a muffled thanks. 

    The tracks in the snow were not small, and that was a worrying fact in San's opinion. He couldn't be sure of what sort of beast the imprints belonged to, seeing as he wasn't familiar with monster biology or anything of the sort. He had an educated guess but... that was crazy wasn't it? What kind of monster would just be a giant... 

_Dog._  

    The monster was large, white, and snarling its teeth in San's direction. It towered over Sans in all its might; silver armor gleaming in the snow-light. Claws black and sharp were flexing in the air, as if impatient to tear open Sans' skin just to see what was below all that flesh and sinewy muscle. 

    For the second time that day, Sans ran. 

    The dog gave chase. 

 

    (---) 

 

    Sans didn't very well know the layout of the town, but he didn't particularly care. He could hear the thrumming of the dog's paws as they lashed against the snow underfoot and he could feel the sweaty, adherent breath that the canine was breathing out on his neck. The dog's breath smelled like rotten flesh like it had just been tearing up the bloody carcass of a dead bird. 

    Sans didn't very well know the layout of the town, but the doctor did. 

    (There is an alleyway just up ahead,) the voice advised, (Hiding in the trash may mask your smell.) 

    Ideally, Sans would have liked to think the plan over but—the dog monster snapped its neck forward and took a bite out of the air where San's head had been a second before. Sans screamed and ran a bit faster, eyes searching for the alley the doctor had recommended. 

   "Is that _—huff_ _—_ it?" Sans wheezed out, staring ahead unsteadily at a small opening just behind a building that donned the name, 'Grillby's." 

    (That is correct.) 

    Sans pushed himself harder to make the last sprint into the alley. It was a close race, but Sans' lack of any feeling in his arm and leg made it somewhat easier to power through the last few feet and bounce into the alleyway. Without a second of thought, Sans shimmied himself into a small wedge just between a dumpster and a pile of trash bags. 

    The pounding feet behind Sans stopped (the pounding in his head did not). Crunching snow echoed in Sans' skull for a minute before retreating back to the main road. Sans waited a full two minutes before letting out his breath. 

    He sucked back in more oxygen and paused. 

    There was another monster watching him. 

 

    (---) 

 

    The flame was a shocking orange, bordering on red if Sans were to squint. They wore some raggy clothes that may have just been dirty from the trash bag that sat at the monster's feet or it could have been smoking from the monster's fire. Sans was really struggling to describe the monster that stood before him, mirroring Sans' own surprised look. The monster was literally just a flame, clothed, with glasses, and about a foot taller than Sans. 

    Neither spoke for a moment. The barrier of silence was broken by the fire, "Uhm... Are you a human?" 

    Sans was quiet, waiting for the doctor's input, but received silence instead. "That depends," he hesitantly settled on after the doctor's lack of input, "would you try to kill me if I said yes..?" 

    It was a risky move on his part, seeing as he basically just verified that he was indeed not a monster and was actually what monsters were apparently wanting to kill. Nonetheless, the fire monster quietly murmured, "Ah, no. I wouldn't do that." 

    Sans decided he rather like this monster. Not only was the flame not trying to kill him, but he seemed likable in an odd sort of way. The fire seemed soft spoken and the fact that he was literally made of fire gave Sans a lot of fuel for new puns. 

    "I'm Grillby, by the way," Grillby crackled, "Who are you?" 

    The fallen human pushed himself off of the ground and away from the trash heap now behind him, "Sans. Sans the human. Did you say your name is Grillby? As in the name of this building _Grillby_?" 

    The flame laughed softly, but it seemed somber, "Yeah, I guess. That's my dad. So technically my name's Grillby Jr., but everyone just calls me Grillby." 

    Sans shrugged, looking around for the dog. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't still scared. He looked up at Grillby, "You know any places I might be able to rest up around here?" The fallen human's head was still aching slightly and his burns were still a searing reminder of Toriel. 

    San's fidgeting alerted Grillby to the human's burns. "Are those burns?" The fire sparked up before raging quietly in concern as he ignored Sans' own inquiry, "I can get you something to put on those, Sans." Grillby briefly explained how he always had something to treat burns handy just in case his own flames got out of control. 

    Sans frowned, trying to cover the burns up, but only succeeding in agitating them further. After a second's struggle, the fallen human consented. "Thanks..." 

   

    (---) 

   

     Grillby returned five minutes later with some sort of lotion-y looking thing. "Here," he passed it to Sans, moving away quickly so as to not burn the human further, "It's infused with magic to speed up the healing." 

    Sans thanked him, pocketing the magic antidote, but not yet applying it. "I'm really warming up to you, Grillby." 

    "..." The fire monster paused, embers quiet before crackling with soft laughter, "Was that meant to be a joke?" 

    "Hey, I'm just heating up," the human smirked, laughing mutely before looking around, "I've been wondering, where are all the monster, anyway? I was under the impression that this town would be crawling with them?" 

    Grillby appeared put off by the question, "There was a-uh..." 

    Sans blinked. 

    "The royal guard ordered everyone to evacuate the town, or at least to lock themselves indoors." 

    "...Why?" Sans asked after a moment. His headache roared louder still. 

    "...There were reports of a human nearby. Now I guess that must have been you..?" Grillby crackled, flame lowering quietly. 

    Some monster must have seen him, Sans rationalized. Was it the doctor..? The fallen human couldn't be sure. He'd instinctively trusted the goopy man, despite his quirks. In hindsight, that irrational trust might have been his downfall. The doctor had been awful silent as of late. Sans was quiet for a moment, rubbing his temples as his headache pounded loudly. 

    Grillby fidgited on his feet, picking up the trash he'd dropped earlier and carrying it to the dumpster, where he tossed it unceremoniously in. He didn't appear to be afraid of Sans or have any intent to kill him like the dog had. "Does your head hurt..?" He asked after a moment, observing Sans' scrunched up eyebrows, "I can get you some medicine. I think my dad keeps some pills in the cupboard." 

    He didn't need the pills. 

    What he really needed was a doctor. 

    (stop) 

 

**_"I can assure you..."_**  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No update Wednesday.  
> Normal schedule for anyone who didn't know: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
> 
> Side note: Sans was supposed to be out of Snowdin by now crappppp--
> 
> ALSO still looking for any good puns I can use! thanks <3
> 
> AfH


	8. What Was Hiding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snowdin can be a dangerous place.

    (start) 

    Sans wasn't sure where to go. After saying his thanks to Grillby, Sans had searched to town for somewhere to lay low until his burns were fully healed. He'd searched for about an hour, but the royal guard had been searching the town, too, for him. He'd watched as they looked through the forest, knocked on doors, and even went back towards the ruins to check the empty posts. After about three hours of shuffling around the town and hiding in the shadows, what Sans assumed to the townspeople were welcomed back into the town. The fallen human figured the guard would leave after that, but it seemed more like they just heightened the security. Sans had tried to leave Snowdin twice, but it appeared that both exits were under constant guard. 

    Sans was finding the constant vigilance of the royal guard irritating and needless to say, he was having some difficulty coming up with a plan. 

    The guards were mostly dogs, for some reason, though Sans did notice a few outliers. At one point, even, Sans noticed young fish monster claiming to be of the royal guard, though after a few minutes someone in some sturdy looking armor came over and skirted her away. 

    The guards were persistent and Sans was trapped in a town filled with them. 

    "Any ideas, Doc?" He asked aloud quietly. 

    No answer was returned to him, verbally, mentally, or otherwise. 

    The doctor's silence was offputting, in Sans' opinion. The man's talkative nature beforehand had been suddenly forgotten without explanation. The fallen human wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not, but he had little say in it either way. Sans heaved out a sigh. 

    Sans watched as a younger pair of guards laughed as they walked out of Snowdin. They stopped after a few yards and took up post. Sans wasn't sure what was that way, seeing as it was in the opposite direction that the ruins were in, but it didn't matter much. The guards blocked his exit on each side of town. 

    He looked around. He had been outside for a while now, and the good patrons of Grillby's had finally begun ambling home. Sans figured that it was nighttime. The sky had grown dark, but only slightly. Dimmed was a better word to describe it. By normal, overworld standards, the sky was still very bright. Sans wasn't sure how monsters could sleep with the sky this bright. Not only did the habits of the monsters tell him it was getting late, but Sans had begun yawning tiredly about half an hour prior. The problem wasn't sleeping, but rather finding a place to sleep. 

    Sans walked along the row of trees and houses, looking for some sort of shelter. He winced a few times as guards trudged through the snow, searching for him despite the time of day. There was fear growing in his heart. What if he couldn't find a place to rest? What if he...? 

    Shaking his head and his thoughts away at once, Sans moved out of his shadowy shelter. Most of the town's citizens had returned to their own homes and only the guards remained, vigilant still. As the snow crunched loudly under his feet, Sans cursed his luck, but the street was relatively empty. Now was the time to move. 

    So he did. Quickly, and as quietly as possible, Sans sprinted towards a grouping of buildings Sans hadn't inspected yet. The first building he ran smack into was a library. At least, he thought that was what it was. The building was labeled, "Librarby," which Sans found ironic enough to warrant a giggle, which he quickly stiffened when he noticed a nearby guard's ears perk up. 

    The lights were off inside, but when Sans sneakily turned the doorknob, it clicked a few times but didn't unlatch. Cursing his luck further, the fallen human shimmied around to the side of the building and tried to pry open a window, but was met instead with a dull groaning noise and resistant stillness. 

    Sans felt his nerves growing as he silently accepted the fact that the library was probably going to be impossible to enter. There were at least two buildings left, one a house and the other a shed. Sans was determined still to find a place to rest up for the night. 

    Quiet breaths narrated his journey over to the house. With a breath of relief, he noticed a "for sale" sign posted to the left of the door. The house was large, two floors, at least. It had a balcony, and Sans assumed the shed went with it. A guard nearby Sans looked his way, and sent Sans towards the back of the house. Seeing as the house would be empty, Sans saw it as a good place for him to stay for the night. However, the problem now was getting in quietly. Not to forget quickly, Sans thought with a shiver at the cold. 

    Apparently, this house enjoyed its lack of windows for Sans to shimmy open. There was a door, but after a few minutes of wiggling the handle, Sans discovered he would need a key to open it. The shed, however, proved more fruitful in Sans' search of it. There were two windows on the back wall. They were too dusty to see into, but Sans held out hope. 

    The first window was sticky for some reason, so when he began pulling it up, the window held strong. He gave up after a minute. The second window seemed similarly stuck, but for an altogether different reason. When he tugged it upwards, the frame moved up an inch or two before stalling. It seemed to be latched from the inside. 

    Sans looked around for inspiration. This window, at least, gave Sans some idea of how to get inside. After a moment, Sans picked up a stone that fit into the palm of his hand. Tossing it up and catching it, Sans deemed it useable. 

    Then he threw the stone at the window. 

    Rewarded with a small shattering echo, Sans was glad to notice a small portion of the window had been broken away. The bottom corner was now a hole big enough for Sans to slip his hand into. He did as much and felt around for the window's latch. He was pleased to find it after a few seconds. The human teen flipped the latch, opened the window, and climbed inside. He was sure to shut it behind him, still fearing that the guards may have heard him despite their silence. 

    Inside the shed was an altogether separate silence. He could hear the echoes of spider legs on the walls and the wind stirred through the building like a discordant whistle. The shed was empty save for a few pieces of cloth Sans couldn't explain the origin of. 

    He was glad for the cloths though, setting one down on the floor after shaking out the spiders. He lay down on it and spread the other one atop himself. Chilled still, Sans huffed out a breath he could still see. 

    Despite everything, Sans slept soundly. 

    (---) 

 

_"------------"_  

_"It's quiet now."_  

 

    (---) 

    Sans woke up with tears spilling from his eyes. He wasn't sure why, but he was glad that they weren't that same black goop from before. An immense yet unexplainable sadness filled him either way. 

    A scuttling on his leg startled Sans enough to jerk him from his resting position. Crawling up his exposed leg were about ten spiders, spindly legs weaving webs between his still frame. Sans squealed, but silenced it for fear of being noticed. Kicking his legs out and muffling a scream, Sans dislodged the spiders. He stood up and ran to the other side of the shed with wide eyes. 

    He sighed once he had checked and re-checked that there were no more spiders on him. The blue blanket he had donned before now appeared black because of the shear number of spiders squirming on it. Sans shivered and it was only partly because of the cold. 

    Sans remembered the burn medication Grillby had given him and sat down to pull it out of his jacket. When he took off his jacket to look at the burns, he noticed with some level of curiosity that they looked much better than they had the day before. It was odd, but the fact seemed to be good whether or not it was completely unusual. Sans applied the magic lotion anyway, and felt the relief instantly. It was the magic that provided such instant comfort, he supposed. The marks on his arm became a pale pink. 

    Sans thought about Grillby. He had certainly debated asking the flame for help finding a place to sleep, but he had seemed distracted in his own right. Sans didn't want to bother him with trying to hide a human. Though he had thought about asking Grillby if he had any food to spare. He hadn't eaten since he'd been with Toriel the other day. 

    Sans thought over his game plan in the silent shed when a thought interrupted him. 

    (I see you have been doing fine without me.) 

    Sans perked up, "Doctor! Where have you been!? I needed your help!" 

    His thoughts were silent as the doctor contemplated his wording, (As you  know, it takes some level of energy to communicate with you by any means,) Sans nodded hesitantly, prompting the continuation, (Let's just say that I was saving some energy up.) 

    "Is there any particular reason why?" Not sure if to expect an answer, Sans continued on, "And how did the royal guard already know that I was coming? I could have made it out of here by now if they didn't have such a close watch on the area!" 

    For this, the doctor had an immediate answer, (Do you not remember the footprints in the snow on the way to Snowdin?) 

    Sans did. 

    (A monster most likely saw you walking towards town and alerted the guards as to your entrance into the underground. Your own slow walking was what led to this situation. Now had you been more careful, we may not be in this situation.) 

    "We? What do you mean we? _We_ are not in this situation. _I_ am in this situation." Sans huffed, voice growing louder unconsciously, " _You_ can leave whenever you want, Doc! I never even said you could piggyback on my mind!" 

    The doctor was silent for his part, seemingly in thought but probably in anger. Sans didn’t know the doctor for all the doctor knew of him. 

    A knock pounded on the door, rattling the shed's interior. Sans looked up, eyes wide and breath cut short. The doctor for his part had no remark but an air of expectancy. 

    The knock returned again in full force, followed by the rough yelling of royal guard members to one another. Without much choice, Sans pulled open the cracked window once more and vaulted out the window. 

     He heard the shed door slam open behind him when his feet touched the cold snow below. Across the path, Sans spotted a young flame putting out a small bag of trash. In that moment, Sans did the only thing he could think off. He ran for help 

    Sans ran past an empty house that seemed better fitted for two. 

(---) 

 

_** "You'd best hurry." ** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not being able to update on Wednesday, I had various things to attend to!  
> Anyway! This chapter was meant to be well out of Snowdin and Waterfall by now, but you can see how well that's going. Enjoy!
> 
> Next update Monday, if everything goes according to plan!
> 
> AfH


	9. What Was Whispered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snowdin is taking longer than I thought.

   (---)

    "Grillby!" Sans whisper yelled as he ran toward the bar. He could hear the guards behind him.

    The flame didn't seem to hear him, so Sans called again. To his relief, the monster looked up, albeit a bit confused. "Sans..? You haven't left town yet? It Isn't safe here."

    Sans came to a stop just behind a dumpster. The guards made shouting noises from somewhere in front of the library, and Grillby looked in that direction nervously. His faced appeared to dawn with understanding. "They've got the exits blocked off? How are you going to get out?"

    He rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure. I was hoping you might be able to help?"

    The flame flickered briefly.

    "Please, Grillby," Sans whispered, "I can't get out without your help."

    Sparks fizzled out of the flame.

    "Please. I tried to escape, really, but the guard are blocking both sides of town. I haven't eaten since I left the ruins and I slept in a shed last night. I just need help, Grillby. You don't have to smuggle me out of Snowdin or kill anyone," Grillby winced and Sans softened his whisper, "Anything you can do, Grillby. Food, water, something, please. You're the only one here I can trust."

    The flame blushed out a plume of smoke, "I don't know what I can do to help but..." Grillby paused, seemingly to think it over, but probably just trying to remember everything Sans had whispered, "I-I'll do what I can."

    Without another word, Grillby had disappeared back inside and Sans was left alone with the memory of a whispered conversation.

    (stop)

 

    (start)

    When the cold had just begun to nip at Sans' skin, a young flame returned to heat up the fallen human. Sans was eternally grateful, and it wasn't just for the warmth. Grillby returned with a burger and a bottled water. Sans said his appreciation and took the two from his newest friend.

    "I'm really sorry, Sans. This is all I could grab without my dad getting suspicious." Grillby tried to smile, but Sans hardly noticed the lifting of his fire, "Erhm... I'm not sure how I could sneak you out of town. The royal guard is really good at their job..."

    Sans was practically shoving the food into his mouth with little thought of the taste. His mind, however, was at least somewhat tuned in to Grillby's words. "Well," he speculated after swallowing a particularly large bite, "I guess I don't have any ideas either."

    The two shared a short, tight lipped, whispered conversation for a few minutes while Sans quickly ate. Once he'd finished, a good half bottle of water remained. The fallen human held onto the bottle.

    He looked at the plate and had an idea that wasn't his own.

    (Monsters can be so dense sometimes.) The doctor quipped helpfully.

    "Hey, Grillby, buddy?" Sans whispered without looking up from the plate in his hands. He shook off a few crumbs and hastily ate those, too.

    The flame made a suspicious crackling noise, "Uh, yes?"

    Sans smiled a smile that was (not) all his own, "Could you grab me a pen?"

    Grillby left Sans with the echo of a conversation that never happened.

    (stop)

 

    (start)

    Just like before, Grillby returned shortly after his brisk disappearance. This time, he carried with him a sharpie and a confused look. Sans answered the unspoken question by grabbing the pen and uncapping it. He turned the plate over and carefully drew on a smile.

    "There," he nodded towards the plate, "Does that look monster-y?"

    Grillby sparked, contemplating the widely smiling, large eyed mask, "I suppose. What kind of monster were you going for?"

    "Skeleton."

    "That's an interesting skeleton." Grillby whispered conversationally, "I've never known a skeleton before, and I doubt any of the guards have. Are you trying to masquerade your way out of Snowdin?"

    Sans shrugged, "Got any better ideas?"

    Grillby didn't, but they paused to think anyway, out of courtesy for the silence.

    Sans' head surged with a sharp pain that had been nagging at him for days. It surged in time with the loud barking of some nearby guard dog that sent Grillby into the air in panic. Sans yelped and looked to Grillby for support, but the young monster looked ready to run inside.

    "Go inside, Grillby. If anyone knows you've been helping me..." Sans let the unspoken words haunt the snowy town's silence as he hastily jabbed some holes in the face with the back of the pen.

    The growling grew closer.

    "I can't just leave you to the guard Sans." Grillby sputtered, "You... You're my friend."

    Sans tied a piece of string he found lying in the pile of garbage around his head and looped it into some of the holes in the mask, effectively tying it to his face. "You've helped enough."

    Grillby looked skeptical, but the pawsteps of a dog in the snow forced his nod of acceptance. He turned and opened the door to the back of Grillby's. Just before closing it, his flame flickered in regret.

    "Goodbye, Grillby."

    The whispered conversation died with a promise to never meet again.

    (---)

    Apparently, poking holes into a paper plate does not make for very good eyes. Sans could hardly see in front of his face, which was unfortunate when trying to hide from the royal guard long enough to leave the town. The dog that had been barking earlier had already made his previous hiding spots at the shed and at Grillby's. He'd seen them (just barely) sniffing around and then knock on the door a few times.

    Sans would be lying if he said he felt good about the situation. He really didn't. Honestly, what kind of stupid idea was it to put on a mask; a paper plate one at that, and walk around pretending to be a particularly pudgy skeleton.

    Granted, the skeleton part had not entirely been Sans' idea. He had the doctor to thank for that. Speaking of, the doctor seemed rather pleased.

    (I am pleased, Sans. You are finally getting a move on towards the laboratory.)

    Sans would have asked what the sudden interest in this 'laboratory' place was, but the sound of guards searching for him propelled him onwards.

    He decided that he smelled enough like garbage, grease, and spiders to fool the dogs into thinking he was a particularly disgusting skeleton with poor eating habits. When it came down to it, Sans' heart was pounding out of his chest. He silently wondered if the dogs would be able to hear it, and, if so, did the underground's skeletons even have hearts?

    He hoped so, but knew its improbability.

    Sans walked past the shed he had slept in last night. It looked empty, still, but the door had been pushed open; by the guard, he'd assumed. Somewhere ahead, Sans saw two guards watching the entrance to whatever lie beyond Snowdin. They weren't the same ones as the night before.

    He started to walk past them, sweating oddly. They watched with concealed skepticism.

    "Sir?" One spoke. It was a loud sort of voice that sent an involuntary shiver up Sans' spine.

    "You shouldn't leave town, Sir." The other piped up helpfully, "We're trying to contain the human."

    Sans was glad, at least, that his swiftly fashioned disguise seemed to be doing the trick, though he couldn't see the guards' faces beneath the mask to read their faces for lies or suspicions. "Uhh..." Sans said with a low falsetto, "I have to, uhh..." He really should have thought this through. One of the guards approached with a clanking, metal step. "I have to get out of town, y'know? Humans, am I right? S-so scary!"

    Sans watched his suddenly interesting shoes with a bated breath.

    "Alright," the second guard spoke with practiced skepticism, "Just don't stay in Waterfall too long. Who knows where the human could be."

    The closer guard stepped back, but his eyes watched Sans carefully.

    Wait, seriously? That worked?

    (Of course it did, Sans. Monsters can be so ignorant at times.)

    The snow picked up, hesitant at first, but brutal with sudden inspiration. Sans trudged through it with little complaint.

    Sans stepped out of the snow and into the dark.

    (---)

 

_**"Now then, let's continue."** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tired. : (


	10. What Was Expected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Waterfall: It is cold and wet and unhappy

   Beyond the snowy town of Snowdin was a surprisingly warm cavern; its central theme appeared to be water. In fact, a stream was running to his left, rather turbulently, in Sans' opinion. A waterfall sprouted from somewhere above and crashed down noisily somewhere far below. The only thing lighting his path seemed to be a series of small, glowing mushrooms and stones; and the ethereal, yet somehow natural, glow of the underground. 

    All in all, the area beyond Snowdin already seemed considerably safer than the chaotic area previous. Ever since the guard incident of Snowdin, or perhaps because of it, Sans was still cautious when entering Waterfall. Even so, Sans had seemingly gotten the guards of off his tail. Tail bone, really, if he still had the right to make skeleton puns. 

    (I do not find these puns of yours humorous, Sans.) 

    "You mean _humer_ _us_." He corrected, a lilt of playfulness finding its way onto Sans' tongue. Making puns seemed suddenly important, but Sans couldn't place why. His headache throbbed loudly. 

    (You should move along,) the doctor continued, apparently ignoring Sans' attempts at irritating the voice, (The guards will eventually realize that you are no longer in the town. Snowdin is only so big, after all. When they finally reach this conclusion, it is safe to assume that the guard will work its way closer to you.) 

    "Geeze, Doc. I'm just trying to tickle your funny bone." Sans was beginning to realize that despite how comfortable he felt with the overall idea of having this doctor in his mind, he didn't really _like_ the doctor. In all honestly, the doctor was actually a little annoying. He was always talking down upon other monsters and he never really let Sans take any breaks. 

    (I have told you before, Sans,) the doctor spoke after intercepting Sans' thoughts once more, (What I am doing, I am doing to protect you.) Sans raised his eyebrows below the mask, (And it is not my fault that other monsters are so incompetent.) 

    On a normal day, Sans may have apologized for his attitude; however, it seemed none of his days were normal anymore. Screw it. "Quit _skullking_ _,_ Doc. I'm just trying _tibia_ good friend." 

    (…) 

    Sans decided maybe the doctor was right and he should just get moving. The human didn't expect any I-told-you-so's from the voice in his head, and he didn't get any. For his part, the doctor remained stoically silent. So Sans kept walking. Hurriedly, now, to make up for whatever time he lost pestering the doctor.  

    The path filtered out into a larger opening. Despite the guard post, the clearing was empty. Sans figured that most of the monsters were still searching around Snowdin. He remembered the doctor's warning, and started walking faster. 

    There was a star in his path. They were really starting to confuse the fallen human. He'd come across them... how many times now? Sans put a guess at four, five now, but wasn't entirely sure. Sans' head throbbed. 

    "Hey doc," Sans said, averting his oddly colored eyes from the star, searching the area for anything that didn't add to the weight of his headache, "D'you know what these things are?" 

    The doctor was silent for a moment in thought. Sans had the distinct feeling that the doctor was contemplating telling him anything. (I do.) He stopped, hesitantly, (I suppose you could call them save points. They are very important.) 

    "A save point? Like in a video game?" 

    A sigh. (If that analogy clears anything up for you, I suppose.) The doctor spoke slowly and deliberately, as if explaining something to a child, (They create a sort of checkpoint in reality, if you will. If something were to go wrong, one could reload from their latest save point.) 

    "This is a video game," Sans said, mockingly but also contemplatively, "Oh my god, this is a video game." 

    (This is all irrelevant, Sans. Just save your progress.) 

    The sound of rushing water filled Sans with trepidation. 

    He wasn't sure what he was fearful of. 

 

   (---) 

 

    Waterfall was a very strange place, Sans learned. Strange, though not in the good way. Almost immediately, Sans had to wade through a tumultuous downfall of water. Sans wasn't entirely sure what to do about the waterfall, so he just sprinted through it and attempted to dodge the unexplained stones that fell from somewhere above him. In the space just beyond that room, huge tufts of grass or reeds or something stuck out of the stone below. 

    Not ten minutes into Waterfall and Sans was thoroughly soaked head to toe. 

    "Seriously," Sans huffed out, trudging through the thick reeds, "Can't someone like, I don't know. Clear out a path?" 

    The doctor was quiet and Sans didn't mind. 

    "I guess not. That would make things too easy." Sans answered himself, "Being attack by everything that breaths isn't enough anymore, is it? If I don't drown on the way, my journey wouldn't be complete, huh?" 

    (Quiet down.) 

    "So he speaks!" Sans said, louder still. He wasn't sure what kind of mood he was in. It seemed to be some mix between snarky and outright antagonistic, but it held strong nonetheless, "What's up, Doc?" 

    (Sans, I'd advise that you quiet down your incessant chatter. Need I remind you that the entirety of the underground is currently searching for you?) The doctor replied with a collective sigh. 

    Somewhere to Sans' left, metal clanked loudly against the stone. 

    "I gotcha!" 

    The force of metal banged heavily onto Sans' head, and for a moment, his skull stopped throbbing simply because it went paralytically numb. He didn't have any time to react, really. Whatever had ambushed him moved with surprising speed and strength. By the time Sans regained full function of his limbs, the monster had him pinned to the earthy floor below. Sans groaned out in a pain that had been throbbing in his skull forever. Sans didn't know who attacked him, but it's not like he could see even if he sat up because the lighting became suddenly drastic for no apparent reason. Sans didn't understand anything in the underground, even now. 

    But then the monster hefted his form up with that same unimaginable strength and-- 

    -wait seriously..? What was it with the underground and always surprising him? Because Sans really thought that the monster that had caught him was a royal guardsman but instead it was just... a kid? 

    (You shouldn't underestimate monsters, Sans.) the doctor piped up. 

    Sans wanted to say something about how undermining others was all that the doctor ever did, but he didn't want to speak to his friend that no one else could hear. 

    The monster that had brutally attacked Sans was a young fish. Her scales were blue and shining, like the monster was having a similar experience with the wetness of Waterfall that Sans was. Her red hair was tied up in a ponytail, but was still somehow tangled beyond belief. The clanging metal that smashed into Sans' already pounding skull looked to be a hastily made suit of armor. In reality, though, it just looked like a poorly put together Halloween costume. The fish monster looked to be a bit younger than Sans himself. She looked to be about the age of (REDACTED). 

    The fallen human realized that his mask had fallen off in the struggle. 

    "I caught, you, human!" She shouted triumphantly, "Now they'll definitely let me into the royal guard!" 

    Sans felt the urge to run away. 

    (---) 

 

**_"There is no need."_**  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate this chapter omgggg
> 
> Anyway! Just finished typing up chapter 12! I might be going on a hiatus after posting it to write ahead a bit but maybe not idkkkkk Originally the story was supposed to end after about 13 chapters but its only like half done now sooo...?


	11. What Was Hers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things change, if only just slightly.

    The small fish monster tugged Sans around with strength he didn't expect her to have. She didn't seem keen on having a conversation with her prisoner, but she was, apparently, pretty excited. Sans hadn't ever seen someone, monster or human, act this excited. Granted he also had never been kidnapped. 

    It was a day of firsts all around. 

    Sans was hesitant to fight back against the fish child. She looked strong, and that was concerning. On one hand, he might be able to make a run for it. On the other, she'd just kill him. It was on odd thought, imagining a child killing Sans, but based on his previous experience with the royal guard, he wouldn't put it past her. 

    For a while now, the monster and the human had been trudging through the reedy and wet Waterfall. Sans huffed out in a mixture of annoyance and fear, but his captor was still glowing with pride. He looked up at her, hair sticking to his face in the damp air. 

    "So..." Sans started, trying to ignore the steadily growing headache spreading upwards from the base of neck, "Are you kidnapping me on o _fish_ ial business? Or _cod_ you just be doing this for fun?" 

    The fish monster's mouth twitched, but Sans was pretty sure it wasn't in happiness at his jokes. She spoke anyway, "If you _must_ know, I'm taking you to King Asgore! Once he sees that I caught the human all by myself, he'll definitely let me join the royal guard!" 

    The fallen human frowned, but masked it quickly. She wanted to join the guard? "You look a little young to be joining the guard, kid? But any _fin_ is possible, I guess." 

    She was positively shaking with rage. Sans wasn't sure of why. "Would you stop with those stupid puns already?!" That certainly cleared things up. "Can't you, like, just shut up while I take you to the king?" 

    They were quiet for a long time after that, walking in silence through the marshy cave. In silent companionship, the monster led Sans over a series of bridges and through many reeds that left Sans soaked down to the bone. However, after a few more minutes of silence, an old, cracked voice called out, "Undyne!" 

    The fish monster beside Sans jumped. Undyne? Was that her name? 

    "Oh! Gerson!" Undyne gripped Sans' shoulder harder and ran toward what Sans could now identify as a turtle. She looked up at him, pride sparkling in her eyes, "I caught the human! I kicked their ass!" 

    Gerson laughed heartily, seemingly not put off by the child's language. With an aged stare, the turtle turned to look at Sans. There was a distant twinkle in his eyes that Sans did not understand, but vaguely recognized. He turned to Undyne and they had a brief, hushed conversation that Sans couldn't hear. Whatever it was they talked about, Undyne didn't appear to be upset at all, so Sans figured it couldn't be all that bad. 

    After their brief conversation, Gerson locked eyes with Sans again. The human could technically run now if need be, but he was curious, and also slightly embarrassed to have been captured by a small fish child where man-eating dogs could not catch him. "So you must be the human." It wasn't a question and Sans didn't respond,"How are you enjoying the underground, child?" 

    Sans frowned, thinking about the doctor. He had asked the same question earlier, hadn't he? The fallen child shrugged internally, thinking back to his non-answer the last time he'd been asked. Instead, he settled on, "Everything has been going pretty _shell_ , I'd like to think." He left out the part about being burned by his goat mom, having another monster inhabit his mind, being chased by bloodthirsty dogs, and being kidnapped by another kid. 

    Gerson laughed, throat making odd, crackling noises. He seemed pleased with the puns, though Sans couldn't be certain. "Undyne been treatin' you well?" 

    Sans almost laughed. _Almost._ Instead, he threw up some more puns, "Oh, she's been a _fin_ astic host." 

    Gerson laughed again, though when Sans focused, he got the feeling that the humor was more out of consideration for the captured human. Sans shrugged in answer to the question that wasn't asked. Undyne, off somewhere to Sans' right, was bouncing on her heels, looking eager. Gerson waved them off, no hostility in his eyes, but also not the saving grace Sans needed. 

     And Undyne led him on. 

    (---) 

    Sans wondered where the doctor was. 

    (---) 

    Undyne pulled him forward on a path Sans had hoped to take anyway. He thought about how even if the fish monster hadn't caught him, the fallen human would still be walking down the road to the king. Except then he would have been walking it alone and also without the threat of death. He couldn't decide if this was the better option. 

    At one point, the terrain had changed beneath Sans' feet without him really noticing it. The floor had changed from cool and blue beneath his shoes to warm and orange. It wasn't just the stone that changed color, but the temperature appeared to change to. He went from shivering from the cold to sweating in just a few moments. It was odd, but Undyne seemed content, if not a little put off by the sudden heat. She marched him forward nonetheless. 

    After crossing a bridge that stood over what Sans assumed was lava, Undyne paused to get something out of a small water cooler. It looked refreshing, but she didn't offer him any. More out of fear than anything else, Sans was inclined to not protest. 

    He was inclined, however, to contemplate the lack of people he'd seen throughout the underground so far. He understood Snowdin and the path to it. In the snowy town, the citizens had been evacuated because he was reckless and obvious. Still, he wasn't sure why he'd only seen the two monsters in Waterfall. Had they been evacuated too? Wasn't that a bit overkill? The human with one dark eye didn't voice his questions aloud. 

    The road split apart from there. Undyne looked to know where she was going, however. One path led down, to where Sans could make out another sudden change in stone color. To his left, the path was blocked by some guards that sent them looks of trepidation. The path directly in front of Sans led to a lab. 

    Seeing such a strange laboratory in a place like this filled Sans with hate. 

    Looking down, Sans realized he'd nearly stepped on one of the doctor's save points. 

    (...) 

    Undyne was both eager to move forward and ignorant to Sans' drifting glances toward the laboratory. It looked empty and dusty. He could nearly see the cobwebs building off of the door from where he stood near the shimmering save. 

    "Hey!" Undyne yelled as she pulled Sans up to her by the hood of his blue jacket. Her face was pulled up tight in the image of anger. "You see this!? This is the human! Now let me pass! I've got to get to Asgore!" It was in that moment that Sans learned how much the young fish liked to yell. 

    The guard on the right spoke slowly, explaining a variety of reasons why he couldn't just let Undyne pass. They were valid and mostly seemed to center around the fact that she was a child and that Sans was a dangerous human hellbent on spilling monster blood. They argued and Sans drowned them out, searching his mind for the doctor. A rising sense of dread filled him, but he'd have to speak with the king eventually, wouldn't he? 

    In the end, the guards decided to just escort Undyne and Sans to the king. None of parties were happy with the compromise, but no one was inherently put off by it either. Sans was really the only one screwed no matter what. The guard led them to a hotel, by the looks of it, and into an elevator. 

    As the elevator trudged reluctantly forward, the thrumming in Sans' head built up exponentially. The world went wobbly and his vision smudged and the elevator was still buzzing along its path. The human realized too late that he let out a mewl of pain. 

    Undyne flashed him a quick look and the elevator door chimed open. 

    (---) 

    The guards seemed to know their way around the underground. They made short work of the path before them, walking straight through a gray world and skirting around other gray blotches in a world that should have more color. His companions were silent, as if sensing a tension that didn't exist. One way or another, the group passed through a golden hallway that left Sans' blood feeling cold in his veins, but no less prepared for meeting the king. 

    As it turned out, the king wasn't prepared to meet him, either. 

    "Oh? Is someone there?" The large goat monster hummed from his spot among rows of countless golden flowers that left Sans' skin crawling for no apparent reason. Sans' initial reaction to the king was to wonder just how similar he looked to Toriel. He also wondered if they knew each other and if the king was just as likely to set him on fire. 

    "The human has been capture, your highness." 

    King Asgore didn't react, save for looking a bit embarrassed by the use of formalities. 

    "I captured the human, Asgore!" Undyne interjected, looking proud.  

    The King sighed heavily, equal parts resignation and pride, "You are truly talented, child. May I ask your name?" Undyne supplied, and the king smiled forlornly, "You have done a wonderful job, Undyne." 

    And then he promptly kicked all the other monsters out of the room. 

    Sans would have been lying if he had said he wasn't scared. For his part, silence had been the best answer thus far. He looked at the king and saw steely determination flaming within their depths. 

    The king attacked and the world skipped back a few paces. 

    [RELOAD] 

 

**_"Let's aim for a better ending_** ** _this_** ** _time, Sans."_**  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. Apparently there are only 11 chapters to this first part. crapppp  
> Anyway! I'll start working on the next batch of chapters when I get the chance. Hopefully I can squeeze some more chapters out of this piece of garbage. Of course this means the schedule might be off for a bit unless I can finally get my act together ''''  
> Thanks to sonicxjones for correcting my spelling mistake! <3
> 
> Also! I just got a tumblr account and I haven't got a clue how to use it. Please send help: http://allegoryforhatred.tumblr.com/


	12. What Was Repeated (and What Was Not)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author is forced to rewrite an entire scene without sounding too redundant.

    (stop) 

    It started with a jolt of electric pain in the base of his skull; bumblebees buzzing out their own static song somewhere in his mind. It was quiet at first, but the static steadily grew louder. When Sans tried to clear his mind of the static, it only seemed to grow. About half-way through his panic, Sans realized his eyes had forced their way closed. Something wet and black and not entirely real dripped down his face when he opened his mismatched eyes. The world was hesitantly wavering, seemingly deciding between one thing and another. To Sans' right, he saw a figure cloaked in black, but still despite the shaking world.  His face was a blur of white, cracked and scarred, but still smiling. Sans knew him, of course, it was the doctor, though now his smirk appeared to be somewhat forced under some sort of unknown pressure to deliver. Sans reached out a hand to him but this time the world wasn't so hesitant to make its decision. 

    Sans could feel time slipping through his fingers like sand. The world was changing and Sans wasn't sure why. 

    (start) 

    Looking down, Sans realized he'd nearly stepped on one of the doctor's save points. 

    The human paused, heart thrumming faster even though he'd stilled his breathing. A save point..? How was that possible? He'd just been fighting Asgore when—when... Sans' eyes widened as the memory chilled its way up his spine.  The fallen human could remember the feeling of being torn in two, and the memory wasn't helping the pounding in his skull. Had the king killed him? The king was really his only prayer for leaving the underground, but now...  

    "Hey!" The familiar voice of Undyne yelled (again) as she pulled Sans ' blue jacket roughly. Her face was tight with irritation (still). "You see this!? This is the human! Now let me pass! I've got to get to Asgore!" Undyne repeated unknowingly. 

    The guards heaved out the same sigh and went into a tirade of explanations as to why Undyne couldn't possibly go meet the king. Sans' mind was elsewhere. This must have been the power of save points as Sans recalled it from his talk with the doctor. He realized that he was shaking, but Undyne didn't seem to notice. In fact, just like the last time, she was far too preoccupied with her argument against the guards. 

    The ground felt unstable below Sans' feet. There was no way he was going back to that royal scumbag so he could just die again. The guards were distracted, though one kept shooting nervous glances at Sans. Undyne was flinging insults at the guards like it was nothing. And Sans remembered this. They would fight for another minute until the guards would eventually tire of fighting a child. In another minute, they would be guiding Sans to the king. 

    In conclusion: if Sans wanted to run, it was now or never. 

    The laboratory loomed ominously to his side but Sans ran towards it with the determination he'd never known. 

    "Hey!" Undyne. She must have heard his footsteps pounding on the stone below. Sans silently cursed himself. The clanking metal of the guards sounded from somewhere behind Sans' retreating form and grew louder every moment. 

    It was at the last moment that Sans realized that the laboratory might be locked. He ran towards it regardless, seeing as it was a little too late to change his trajectory. As he reached out to push the door on the off-chance that it didn't open, a small mechanical ding sounded from the door. It permitted him entrance into the lab, but sounded with an echoing clunk behind him a second after he was safely inside. 

    Metallic bangs ricocheted off of the door as the guards and Undyne struggled to get it to open. Despite everything, the door would only move for Sans. He backed away from it and moved through the darkness. He could hear muffled yelling from beyond the door that listened only for him. It was indistinct in the way that yelling through a giant, metal door might cause. Nonetheless, Sans managed to make out the frustrated screaming of a small fish and the agitated shouting of the guards. 

    Sans really did not have the time to be wondering what the guards were doing in their attempts to open the door. Instead, he felt his way through the dark room. In all honesty, he couldn't even see the walls, but turning back didn't seem like much of an option anymore. 

    (---) 

    And it really wasn't. He could turn back and face certain death. Over and over again, if his understanding of saves was correct, too. It was a redundant death sentence or explore the eerie spookiness of the shadowed labs he was now in. In general, Sans' predicament was rather bleak, but he was filled with determination (that wasn't his own). 

    It only took a few times of tripping over stacks of something and bumping into what might have been a desk or a wall for Sans to pause and focus on his surroundings. Not long after, his eyes began to adjust to the darkness of the lab, though only slightly. Sans still couldn't see the details on the walls, but after taking a moment to break, he was at least aware that there were walls. This was a step in the right direction in and of itself. 

    "Well," Sans mumbled to himself, feeling the lack of sound echoing in his skull, "let's see where we are." 

    The fallen human wasn't sure when things like this became so normal. He should have been alarmed, but he wasn't. In some regards, his whole life was completely different, but in others, everything was still the same. In fact, his head had always pounded as it was then. The only difference was that now it seemed to be rattling on with more purpose. Sans knew he should be worried about the black ooze that dripped from his eye and the doctor that spoke sharply in his head, but he really wasn't. Sans knew he should maybe be concerned with the fact that literally every monster in the underground aside from Grillby wanted him dead. When he tried to think about it, Sans felt a quiet numbness amongst the calm roaring in his head. 

    (I'm glad that worked.) 

    The human nearly jumped up in shock, but calmed at the last second. "Doctor? Are you talking about the..." Sans scrambled for the right wording, but the doctor interjected quickly and effectively. 

    (The reload, yes.) A pause. (I was not anticipating that you would re-save in Hotland. Though I suppose that there is nothing to be done now. In the long run, I cannot be sure whether saving closer to the lab will prove to be more helpful than not.) 

    Sans blinked, trying to clear the darkness of the room, but only succeeding on tripping on the corner of a desk. "Ow!" He cursed quietly, but swiftly proceeded in feeling his way around the remainder of the long room. A question had been burning in his brain for a while now, but Sans had been hesitant to ask it. Despite the doctor's apparent interest in always being with Sans, the fallen human's trust was not easy to place. They'd apparently known each other for a while, as the doctor had said, but Sans still felt some level of distrust for the bodiless monster. 

    The voice in Sans' head seemed to already know the question. (The laboratory will prove useful to you if you aim to leave the underground. I can guide you around the laboratory, if you so please. It is in your best interest that you listen.) 

    He sighed, but couldn't spare the time to actually respond to the doctor. Sans was preoccupied with feeling his way around the dark, echoing room. He didn't respond verbally, but did mull over what the voice had said. This lab would be important? Sans was equal parts glad and suspicious. 

    Abruptly, the darkness of the lab ended.  A door stood tall at the other end of the lab, and as Sans approached it he heard the same ding as for the door previous. It opened in a similarly smooth manner, albeit groaning slightly in protest. Heat and light spilled from somewhere outside the lab, but the doctor disrupted Sans' thankfullness for light. 

    (We have no business outside of the labs. ) the doctor thought to him, (Turn around and search for the other door.) 

    Sans would have protested, but two things stopped him. For one, the doctor hadn't led him wrong yet. Sure, he'd abandoned Sans in some times of need, but never once had he purposely led him to harm. Secondly, there was another monster watching him. 

**_"Ah. I assume_** ** _you accept, then?"_**  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back from hiatus!  
> Hopefully, I'll be updating every Monday and Friday now; and perhaps on Wednesday if I feel up to it.
> 
> http://allegoryforhatred.tumblr.com/  
> save me idk how to social media


	13. What Was Overheard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot happens that the author wasn't expecting to explain in this chapter.

    Sans panicked, backpedalling into the darkness of the lab. This panic, of course, really only succeeded in allowing Sans to trip on one of the spontaneous piles of paper on the ground.

    The door didn’t ding it's closing, but Sans was still twitching on the floor when he thought to look up. When he did, he was no longer alone.

    Peering down at him with hesitant but curious eyes was a small, yellow... lizard? She looked to be female, though Sans could hardly be sure when judging another species. The monster nervously played with the fringe of what appeared to be an overlarge lab coat and shifted the glasses resting on her face. "O-oh! A-are you okay?" She didn't seem to notice that Sans was obviously a human, which, he supposed, was a good thing. The lizard reached out a set of small, yellow claws to the fallen child.

    He took the hand hesitantly and she pulled him to his feet. The door was still open behind her, giving way to at least some semblance of light in the otherwise dark lab. "Sure, thanks." He grumbled, back feeling stiff. She was still looking at him oddly, and Sans began to panic. Had she figured out what he was? Was she going to tell the guards? Instead, he prompted a cautious, "What?"

    She blushed scarlet, hiding her face in the neck of the coat. "I-I was just wondering how you got into the laboratory!" Her voice was odd and squeaky, like it was rusted from disuse, "No one has b-been able to get inside the lab since..."

    "Since..?"

    The lizard blinked, looking up from the dingy floor beneath her clawed feet, "Y-you don't know?" Wary suspicion returned to her gaze, "N-no one has been able to get into the lab since the core malfunctioned all those years ago. The k-king hasn't appointed a new royal scientist since."

    In an attempt to hide his wince at the mention of the monster who had killed him, Sans shifted the charred fabric of his dusty and worn jacket. When the yellow dinosaur finished her brief, detail-sparse explanation, he slowly took a few steps away from her. It was some failed attempt to get her to leave, but the monster's confused expression only grew into mild distrust.

    She looked like she wanted to say something, and after a minute of contemplative silence, seemed to settle on voicing her thoughts, "H-how did you get in here? There's n-no way the king would let you just waltz in h-here." She shifted her glasses once more and took a step forward.

    Sans took a step back and the door closed with a resonant ding. The room descended into darkness once more.

    (---)

    The monster he could no longer see let out a scream that could shatter glass. Sans' wince was hidden by the darkness that had overcome the long room, but it did little to stop him from moving quickly away from the monster. He felt some level of pity for the lizard, sending her into immediate darkness as he had, but his self preservation urged him onwards.

    "H-hey!" Her echo sounded scared, "W-what d-did you d-do?!" Banging. Probably on the door she would never open on her own. "P-please! L-et me out! O-or turn on the l-lights!"

    Okay. Now Sans really felt bad. He could hear her choked out sobbing from his safe, dark corner of the room. Her breathing was rough and came in short gasps every few seconds. She sobbed and choked until Sans hesitantly felt his way through the darkness. When he reached where the sobs originated from, the door dinged open and the room was flushed with light again.

    The yellow monster's eyes were rimmed with a puffy red sickliness that spoke volumes of her fright more than sadness. When she shakily reached up to trace the tear streaks on her face, the long coat sleeves came away wet and sticky. Sans shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, wanting to leave the monsters he'd been taught to fear but not wanting to scare this dinosaur any more than he already had. After a moment of labored gulps for air, the monster stuttered, "D-did you... Does that door only open at close proximity to you?"

    Of all the things he expected, it was not her curiosity on how he had opened and closed the door on command. He had really been hoping that she'd be scared and just leave so he could quiz the doctor on what was so important about the lab. The human didn't answer, choosing instead to stare blankly at the small monster child.

    "B-but why did it open f-for you?" Apparently forgetting that Sans was there altogether, she spoke allowed questions that were meant for her only. He figured she was trying to figure out the answer to the question Sans had overlooked in his haste.

    "I don't know," he answered anyway.

    She looked up, eyes wide as if she'd forgotten she wasn't alone. "I-I'm sorry! I've b-been so rude!" The yellow dinosaur, straightening out her large lab coat, look at everything illuminated in the lab but Sans, "My n-name's Alphys. A-and you are..?"

    Sans blinked. He was hesitant to tell her his name, seeing as she was a monster, and as such, untrustworthy in his eyes. "The name is Sans." It was a gamble, telling Alphys his name, but he couldn't imagine the guard catching him because one yellow monster knew his name.

    Alphys smiled shyly at the floor, but he could see some distrust glinting off of her eyes in the lava-light. She had her suspicions just as Sans had his. The mustard colored monster looked like she wanted to say something more, but in the end just opened and closed her mouth a few times before shutting it indefinitely. Sans was okay with Alphys' silence. Scratch that. He was absolutely not okay with that. He still retained the hope that she would spout out some excuse to go and then leave him alone.

    Sans' head throbbed louder still. If it pounded any stronger, Sans suspected his skull might crack in two.

    (I wouldn't rule it out.)

    "What do you mean 'I wouldn't rule it out'?!" Sans snapped into the air. His eyes, tightened in rage at the doctor, looked over almost as an afterthought. Alphys was staring at him, eyes wide with alarm.

    Just great, Sans thought, sweating oddly at the idea of being found out. Alphys had heard his outburst of course. Not that it mattered; it wasn't like Sans shouted out that he was a human. Nonetheless, the monster before him probably thought he was positively insane. Speaking to himself, yelling to thin air, and glaring at the nothingness around him. Alphys might even go to the guard, telling them some story about some crazy kid screaming at the voices in his head. She could--

    "Did you hear the voice, too?"

    "...S-Sans?"

    Sans stared at her eyes wide and silent. For a moment, the doctor was stunned into silence, too.

    (---)

**_"..?"_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, sorry. The next chapter is pretty long, though.
> 
> I think this is the right chapter..? My schedule has been screwed up since I took a break, so if this chapter is bad, I'm really sorry. Also now I have to write a new chapter by Monday to stay on track yayyyy Though to be fair, my older chapters were done in less time...
> 
> I was expecting to be done with this whole story by now tbh


	14. What Was Checked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alphys is confused and Sans is skeptical.

    "You can hear him too?"

    "Y-yeah," the ridged eyebrows on Alphy's face were drawn together tightly in the image of confusion or fear, "Where did that voice come from, Sans?"

    Sans blinked at the yellow monster, contemplating what to tell her. It occurred to him to ask her how long she'd been able to hear the doctor. If she'd been hearing half of their conversations since Sans fell, it could be hard to explain. On the other hand, if Alphys had only

    heard to doctor just now... well, no. That wouldn't be much easier to explain at all. In the end, Sans chose to feign ignorance, "I'm not sure..?"

    A moment of silence passed, in which Alphys stared hard at the human before her. Her eyes were dark in contemplation and her mouth was pulled in a grim line. Despite the fact that a disembodied voice just spoke, Alphys didn't appear to be overly afraid. Beyond her typical level of nervous stuttering, the yellow dinosaur appeared comfortable with the idea, if not a little curious. After a minute, she finally spoke, "You replied to the voice and gave it a specific p-pronoun," her tail whisked the air underneath the long coat, "You know exactly where the v-voice came from, right?"

    Sans felt a chill run up his spine at the analyzation. He silently cursed his past mistakes, but there was little he could do about it now. Instead, Sans sighed. "I... Sure. I guess I kind of know where the voice came from," he thought in silence for a moment while Alphys silently prompted him onward, "but that's about it. I don't know anything about him, really." It felt relaxing, Sans noticed, to tell another person about the voice that had been talking to him telepathically. It had been like a secret; burning just under his skin and weighing heavily on his shoulders and heart. But Sans was still hesitant to tell Alphys everything he knew about the doctor. For one, she'd think he was insane. Another fear of his had little to do with how the monster would react and more to do with the fact that he'd been stalling for a good ten minutes now. Sans was sure the guard would have found a way in the lab by now. At least, they'd probably be close.

    Alphys didn't pause to answer. "R-really?" She appeared thoughtful, "I-it was kind of scary at first. The voice a-almost sounded like it was s-speaking into my head." She saw Sans stiffen beside her, but continued either way, "B-but! I-if you know who that was, then there's no reason to be sc-scared, right? ...Right?"

    Sans' silence was louder than the pounding in his head. He wanted to reassure Alphys, but despite all the times the doctor helped him, he still wasn't confident placing his trust in the voice. For all the doctor knew about Sans, the doctor was an enigma. Sans had but a vague idea of what the monster actually looked like and what he sounded like. Beyond that, the doctor was a mystery.

    "S-sans?"

    He hoped she couldn't hear the trill of fear and uncertainty in his voice. "Yeah. No reason to be scared, Alphys."

    (---)

    No reason to be scared. Not a one. Sans liked lying about as much as he liked making promises; which is to say he really did not like having to lie to Alphys. She didn't seem to catch the tremble in his voice, or maybe she didn't care. Sans didn't really have the time to analyze the mindset of a yellow velociraptor, anyway. He was far too preoccupied with what he should do with Alphys. The original plan was to convince the monster to leave so Sans could proceed through the underground. But knowing that she could hear what no one, save Sans, could, the game plan was forced to change. Alphys was involved in the human's problems and she wasn't even aware yet.

    It was with a heavy sigh that Sans became aware of what his next move had to be. And he really did not like the new plan.

    Step one: get comfortable with Alphys and vice versa.

    "So, Alph," Sans began, masking his nervousness with a cheerful grin, "What were you doing digging around the lab, anyway?"

    An uncertain flash of her eyes spoke of her own nerves, "U-uh," Alphys adjusted her glasses, pushing them up her snout, but effectively doing little to reposition them. The yellow reptile looked at Sans with a glimmer that begged confidentiality, "Y-you have to promise. This st-stays between us, o-okay?"

    Within the last five minutes, nothing had changed and Sans still hated making promises. Though Alphys was making a demand Sans would rather ignore, if he pretended that the 'us' she'd mentioned extended to the doctor it wouldn't be too hard to stick to. In fact, he could probably go his whole life without breaking this promise with those rules, especially if one considered the fact that he would probably die before the end of the week. "Sure."

    "O-okay," Alphys fiddled with the frayed edges of the long coat, "I th-think my dad used to w-work here?"

    Her voice trembled with uncertainty, prompting Sans to raise his eyebrow. "You think?"

    "W-well," she continued, "I don't... remember? A-and he doesn't either! Which is really strange, r-right? I-I mean he usually has a really good memory, b-but i-its like... my dad has all of these notes and calculations," Alphys suddenly waved her arms around, "A-and! This lab coat! B-but he's n-never been here, to the labs, I-I mean."

    The doctor was silent, as if in thought, but maybe in something else.

    "That's, uh—" Sans rubbed the back of his head nervously, "—odd." In reality, what she was saying only complicated the puzzle Sans was already having trouble working out. As far as he knew, the doctor maybe had some vague idea of what science was and so did Alphy's dad...he guessed. The human tried to think about how everything involve him and the yellow dinosaur, but didn't get far before Alphys spoke again.

    "W-well. I-I guess th-that's it? I m-mean about my dad-d. Y-you haven't told me w-what you're doing in the lab, Sans. Wh-what are—"

    Step 2: Figure out what Alphys knows.

    Though really, step two was just a formality in order to find out what in the world was actually happening. She seemed to be the only other person that could hear the doctor when he spoke. Sans took a chance, "I'm, uh, just looking around," She seemed to catch him in his lie, so he added, "I guess."

    Alphys' yellow brows scrunched together, "S-Sans... I told you why I was here..."

    It was enough, Sans supposed. But really, what was he going to tell her, anyway? Hi, I'm Sans the human. Your monster friends are trying to kill me and a voice told me to come here. Instead, he said, "Listening to that voice guy." The future scientist looked curious, so he continued, "He, uh, had some ideas about this lab place."

    "Ideas?"

    Sans shrugged, looking undecided.

    "W-well, I guess that makes sense." Alphys looked torn between leaving and sitting down on the dusty tile floor below. She stood, bouncing from one foot to the next, occasionally tripping on her large coat, which Sans now figured to be her father's. The pockets were full of metal knick-knacks that jangled every time she moved."I m-mean, as much as a d-disembodied voice c-can." She smiled sheepishly, to which Sans hesitantly breathed out a heavy laugh.

    "Yeah, I guess." Sans' smile fell, "Listen, Alph. Whatever is going on here, with this voice, only the two of us know about."

    Alphys' eyes darkened with what Sans figured to be a mixture of fear and excitement at being a part of something. By the feel of things, something big.

    Sans continued, "The two of us..." He struggled for the right wording, but the monster beat him to it.

    "The t-two of us have to f-figure this out together." Alphys was back to looking nervous, "B-but! Why c-can't we just tell someone about the voice? And y-you still seem so calm about this, S-Sans! What's g-going on?!"

    The human looked away uncomfortably. Should he tell her he was a human? Should he tell her that the voice felt somehow... familiar? Sans breathed out a sigh and went to make contact with Alphys' wide eyes. "Everyone will think that we're crazy, Alphys!"

    The lizard looked taken aback, then went silent for a minute before her eyes clouded in fear. "Y-you're right!" She sobbed suddenly, but seemed to give up on even that, so it came out as more of a halfhearted cough.

    He wanted to comfort her. In fact, Sans moved towards her as if to comfort her. The human had intended to wrap an arm around her and maybe tell her it would be okay (a lie, obviously). He wanted to reassure Alphys that she could just leave and he wouldn't go looking for her help with the doctor. He wanted to do all of these things and maybe a few more. In the end, Sans did none of these things. His head was pounding and a voice was getting impatient.

    (Are you two done bickering, yet?)

    Alphys jumped and Sans gripped his sleeves in an attempt to drown out the pain in his skull. She looked around, as if trying to find the voice with no real origin.

    "W-where..?"

    (Alphys. I trusted you were smarter than this.) Pause. (I thought you and Sans had already discussed that I am currently without body?)

    Alphys nodded, but Sans thought she might have been in shock, or something. "O-of course," she looked nervous, and maybe a tad embarrassed at being told off by the ghost-of-Christmas-Science, but otherwise didn't react. "Th-then who are y-you?"

    He seemed disappointed, more so in having to explain everything than anything else. (You may call me the doctor, child. Or the scientist, if you so please.)

    Well that was a new one. So the doctor—the scientist—did have a reason for sending him to the laboratory. Something science-y, if Sans were to guess. He wondered what he could possibly do for the voice in this lab. Did the doctor know Alphys' dad? The human played with the possibility that whatever hurt Alphys' and her father's memories were somehow connected to this voice.

    "O-oh! Y-you like sc-science?"

    (...I suppose. My interest in science is merely practical, not recreational.) He didn’t expand, and though Alphys seemed hooked, she didn't prod.

    Tense uncertainty crackled in the undercurrent of Alphys' words, "D-did you w-work here?"

    Alphys seemed to be figuring something out. Sans, similarly, was connecting a few dots as well; most likely the same ones as the young monster. If the doctor was also a scientist, it lead way to the assumption that perhaps he had worked at this laboratory at some point. It was also reasonably debatable, then, that perhaps he knew Alphys' father at some point.

    Step 3: Get Alphys to help figure out what's going on.

    Check.

    (---)

 

_**"You doubt me..?"** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to lie. I totally forgot I wrote this chapter.  
> Anyway, enjoy! Please leave comments, they really help c:


	15. What Was The Cost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author is bad at characters and plot and dialogue and

    After that, it hadn't been difficult to get Alphys interested. The doctor, reluctantly, revealed his previous involvement with the lab. The yellow monster's persistent pleading later led to his hesitant, (Your father... worked for me.) This, of course, got Alphys exited to the point of almost hyperventilating. Sans had decided that Alphys' motivations were centered around her curiosity. For her father and for herself. Maybe even for the voice they could hear, but Sans was reluctant to concede to that one.

    In the end, here motivations didn't matter much, when it came to the voice in their heads, Sans wanted all of the answers, whether they related to Alphys or not. He hadn't had time earlier to worry about his slipping sanity and the nagging voice of the scientist, but the recent calm that the lab had brought gave him some time to think. Not being chased by homicidal monsters was doing wonders for Sans' stress levels.

    The doctor's decision to reveal his relation to Alphys' father sent the yellow monster into a stuttering spiral of half-formed questions and nervous, tittering gasps for air. Sans couldn't make out most of what she was trying to say, but with the doctor's lack of a physical form, it was hard to tell if he was alone in the confusion. A minute or so passed before Alphys managed to collect herself. "I-I'm sorry!" She finally stuttered, looking over her shoulder at what lie behind the lab.

    The scientist was silent, so Sans improvised, "Uh, Alphys? This, uh, scientist guy? What do you say to us trying to figure all of this out? The voice, the lab... your father."

    Alphys seemed to perk up, but also appeared suspicious of the proposition. Either way, she reluctantly sighed, "I s-suppose whatever i-is going on here would be easier to figure out if th-there are two of us."

    It wasn't technically consent, but Sans took it. He also ignored the urge to correct Alphys. There were most definitely three people working on this problem. In all honesty, Sans wasn't even sure what said problem was at this point. At first, Sans had been under the impression that his main problem was getting out of the underground. Then, it became not being killed by what lived underground. Somewhere along the line, the human's problem became whatever the voice in his head said it was. This lead him to breaking into a laboratory and stealing the interest of a socially anxious yellow t-rex. Somewhere mid-way through his journey, Sans realized, he might have completely lost his mind.

    (Fantastic,) the doctor intervened, (Now that the two of you have worked things out, I expect that you'll follow my instructions to a tee.)

    Sans blinked. "What?"

    "W-what?" Alphys looked taken aback, "I-I didn't r-realize that there was s-something you wanted us to do, s-sir. I j-just wanted to know m-more about my father a-and the lab."

    Irritation made the ozone heavy. (All in due time, my child.) He spoke in a snarl, cruelty sparking on his nonexistent tongue, (If you were to listen to me, you could know everything about doctor—your father and more. You must be truly ignorant if you think these types of things are free.)

    Alphys shook her head vigorously, body shivering from something that wasn't the temperature. Her eyes were puffy and still rimmed with red from before, but new tears threatened to spill out again.

     Sans intervened, "Alright then, doc. What's the cost?"

    (I appreciate your blunt question, Sans.) He seemed eager to move on, (But in order to proceed, you will need to continue further into the laboratory.)

    The human turned to follow, but a voice stopped him short. "I-I'm sorry." Alphys nervously backed away toward the door, "B-but I need to g-get back home soon or my d-dad will worry."

    The doctor seemed ready to snap, so Sans jumped in quickly and effectively, "Sure thing, Al. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

    She blinked, not expecting the question. "O-of course! B-bye Sans!"

    Quickly, Alphys sprinted out of the lab, shuffling awkwardly so as to not trip on the coat. Sans moved back into the shade of the lab, hearing the resonant clang of metal as it shut. Silence filled the room before the voice echoed in his head.

    (You let her go.) Was all it cracked.

    "Yup."

    Impatient silence. (With another set of working hands, we could finish this project much faster.)

    "She'll be back tomorrow." Sans shrugged, attempting to brush off his curiosity over the use of the word 'project.' The human located by touch a small, soft cushion, perhaps for some dismantled chair, and settled down on it. "Besides, it's been a long day. I could use a nap."

    The doctor was as silent as the constant darkness of the laboratory. Sans slept soundly.

    (---)

_"Oh... Hey, [REDACTED]. I've been thinking about your... proposition."_

_..._

_"I don't know. Will it really work? You said yourself—"_

    (---)

    When Sans woke up, his head was pounding. His most recent thought was forgotten in a hazy dream-like fog. It took Sans a groggy minute to recall where he was and why. A minute later, and the human was fully functional. "Ugh," he groaned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "What time is it..?"

    (It is early. Alphys will not return for some time.)

    Sans ignored the intruding thought and yawned, sitting up in the darkness. While he waited for his eyes to adjust to the looming shadows of the lab, Sans spoke up, "So what's this project you've got us working on, doc? How is it going to get me out of the underground?"

    (If all goes as planned,) the scientist began, (then by completing this project, I will be better equipped to get you what you desire.)

    Naturally skeptical, Sans ran a hand across his face, "How can I trust you, anyway? Your just a creepy voice in my head that's done nothing to earn my trust."

    The doctor seemed to expect the question. (Have I let you down yet? You should not doubt me, Sans. I have got everything under control.)

    "Alright..." Sans sighed his relent, "So what is this project, then? You don't expect me to, like, build some super science machine or anything, right?"

    He felt the doctor chuckle. (Do not worry, human. I will guide you through the process. The process may be mildly difficult but if something does not work out...)

    "...yeah?"

    (If something does not work out, I have a backup plan.) He finished.

    "Why do I get the feeling that this backup plan is something I'll want to avoid." Sans' heart felt heavy and his lungs didn't reach full capacity for give or take a minute. It was an odd sort of feeling that Sans couldn't quite define that fitted somewhere between distrust and skepticism. The doctor had been carefully dodging his question about what the project was with tricky misdirections. Sans was beginning to get the feeling that the voice was hiding something from him and that whatever it was he was avoiding was really not something Sans should be looking forward to.

    And Sans was afraid that there was nothing he could do either way.

    He was also concerned about the royal guard, and by extension, the king. Sans was confident in his escape from their eyes for the moment, but to say he was comfortable with the situation would be a lie. Why hadn't the guards gotten into the labs yet? Sans supposed they could still be trying to break in, but he hadn't heard any noises outside the door for awhile. Sans contemplated the idea that the guards were searching the rest of hotland for him on the off chance that he ran straight through the labs. He tried to cheer himself up by wondering if perhaps the guard had stopped looking for him, but the false hope didn't last long.

    The doctor and Sans sat in relative silence for a few minutes before Sans gave in. "Alright, you've peaked my curiosity. We won't wait for Alphys to get started on... this." In reality he was just tired of waiting around for her, "What do you need me to do, doc?"

    The scientist seemed pleased, but not overly excited, (I'm glad you finally are ready.)

    "...so?"

    (So I need you to go back to my office and collect some of my notes.)

    Sans sighed, but stood up nonetheless. More than anything, he felt like it was a morbid curiosity driving him at this point. "Okay. How will I know which office is yours? I can hardly see anything."

    The shadows of the lab were still thick and coated the whole room in a dark blackness. The doctor still provided an answer, (I will alert you as to when you are near it. Beyond that, have you thought about just turning the lights on?)

    Sans blinked. "Lights? Why didn't you tell me there were lights? I've been in here for, like, a day. Just in the darkness."

    The doctor silently chuckled to himself before saying, (Reach out. To your left, Sans.)

    As Sans felt the wall for a light switch, a distinctive feeling washed over him. The human was surprisingly familiar with gut feelings and things of the like, but this felt more like... nostalgia? Not quite the word he would have chosen, but its meaning felt similar enough. Sans felt as though something was itching just at the back of his mind and he couldn't quite grasp at it.

    The lights turned on with a click.

    (---)

_**"Now then, let's get to work."** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to SansThePacifist for pointing out a grammatical mistake!
> 
> Why am I still writing this? I was supposed to finish w chapter 13.  
> Comments appreciated!


	16. What Was Known

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alternatively titled: The Author Made Some Bad Decisions Early In The Story And Now Has To Rush To Explain Them

    The laboratory wasn't all that impressive. If anything, the room he'd spent the night in was rather disgusting; things covered in dust and something grimy Sans couldn't identify. His earlier hypothesis that the cushion he'd slept on was part of a chair was confirmed when somewhere to Sans' right was a dismantled chair frame. The room was equally unimpressive as it was disconcerting. But his focus wasn't on the state of the room for long. Sans was still searching for the doctor's lab when he nearly tripped on a stack of papers. When he thought back, he recalled tripping on the same pile before.

    With sudden curiosity, Sans eased himself onto the floor and began reading one of the papers on top of the pile:

    "—it appears my hypothesis was correct. With this n— s—ation, my studies on the barrier will be much easie— I c— only h—e that this will b— e—gh. Things are growing darker."

    The general consensus was that the documents were impossible to read, so Sans only skimmed the following paragraphs. Letters missing, whole sentences scratched out, and there wasn't even a name signed to it. Sans heaved out a sigh. He wasn't sure what he expected, but it probably wasn't jumbled

    together notes. The human briefly scanned some of the other documents scattered around, but they were all similarly illegible. Many of the papers were written in an odd language Sans didn't recognize off the top of his head. The characters looked vaguely familiar. 

    It didn't matter. Sans was already on his feet, waving a little as the blood rushed to his head, but otherwise collected. His head was back and pounding in full, but the human took little notice. If the doctor had a plan, it was hopefully one that could get him out of the underground. Sans searched the room for an office attachment. In the end, he didn't find one, but he did locate a door that led to some ramshackle elevator Sans didn't trust in the slightest.

    The scientist had other ideas. (Yes, that's right. Go down there.)

    Sans blinked, sighed, and stepped forward. "Of course."

    The elevator was claustrophobic, but Sans walked in with only a second's hesitation. There were a series of buttons on the wall, one of which the doctor directed his attention to. A few seconds after he pushed the button in, the room let out a noisy hiss and let out a shuddering breath of smoky air. Some cobwebs littered the corners of the elevator, but with a thundering jerk, they shook free and landed daintily in Sans' hair. The human panicked briefly, but ultimately trusted the doctor not to get him killed in the robotic deathtrap. It rumbled around a few floors before thudding loudly in metallic thunder and stopping movement completely.

    When Sans stepped out of the elevator, the hallway was long and sterile white. The smell of antiseptic stung his human nose just as the doors dinged shut behind him. His back straightened involuntarily.

    (My office will be the first door to your left.)

    Sans obeyed, curiosity leading his limbs before he could complain that this plan wasn't really sitting well with him. He still wasn't entirely sure what he needed to get from the office, but the doctor was pretty adamant on getting there. The human's feet pounded on the cold tile below and his head throbbed along to the ceramic song.

    By the time Sans realized he'd been walking, a tall door stood to his left with a scratched out nameplate. His hand was already on the door handle. Skeptical, Sans blinked, but his hand was already on the door, so he gave it a quick pull. It didn't budge, but the doctor was more than happy to supply.

    (You need to insert a key,) he said helpfully, (and a code.)

    "What?" Sans asked dumbly, "A key? Where am I going to find that? And a code too? What are you hiding in here, doc?" Sans' brain screamed in obvious pain and he gazed down the hall.

    (Seeing as it was my office, you should understand the desire for privacy.) The doctor hummed in thought, (I hadn't thought of this. You may have to pick the lock, Sans. Unfortunately, I carried the only key to that door with me when...)

    Sans blinked, curious over the use of past tense verbs, but didn't try for an explanation. He shrugged at the nothing around, "When what?"

    Silence was his response.

    Instead, Sans sighed. "Fine. How am I supposed to pick open your door? It's not like I've ever done this before."

    The doctor agreed, and proceeded to explain to Sans the basics of breaking into offices. Sans was mildly concerned that the voice even had this information, just ready to go. He'd stopped questioning things quite awhile ago.

    After locating something to shove inside the lock, Sans proceeded to shimmy the door open. It was a struggle, especially when one considered the nagging voice of the doctor, who had been correcting Sans' technique throughout the whole ordeal. The door swung open with a reassuring squeal.

    The office inside was just about what Sans expected. There were stacks of papers written in that odd language, pencils, pens, and things of the like. It wasn't all that unique, but Sans was interested to find out who the doctor was. Sans tossed the hair clip he'd used to open the door into a trash bin that was half-full of crumpled up papers and stray pencil shavings. In the corner of the room there was a large tarp covering something silver and dusty.

    "What's that?" The human announced to no one in particular.

    The doctor answered anyway, (My creation. We will return for it later. For now, however, I believe some of my calculations are on my old desk.)

    Sans wandered away from the invention and towards the desk, scanning the surface for any papers that struck him as important. Just as he'd seen before, most of the notes were scrawled in a messy, foreign handwriting that might have been its own language. He couldn't quite read the letters or the words they formed, but Sans had some level of understanding for them. Individually, the symbols were odd, like mailboxes and hands. When strung together, Sans began to get an idea of what the paper read. He wasn't sure why he could read it, but he wasn't in the mood to question it.

    Sans didn't question it, and the doctor didn't comment.

    (I recommend grabbing those,) Sans' eyes were drawn to a stack of notes, filled with mathematical formulas the human didn't recognize, (I'll have to rework them, but I suppose you could attempt them yourself.)

    "Are we just going to be doing math?" Sans asked irritably, "How is that going to get me out of the underground?"

    Gaster seemed to shrug, (Be patient.)

    So Sans was.

    (---)

    When Sans and his passenger arrived back up in the main lab, a tentative knocking was coming from the door. While Sans was skeptical, the scientist insisted that it was only Alphys and that she had come alone. Sans wasn't exactly pleased, seeing as he wasn't sure how long he could hide his human status from the attentive monster, but he liked it to the alternative.

    He stepped towards the door and it swung open resolutely. Alphys, from somewhere outside, jumped. "O-oh! Sans! I've b-been knocking f-for a few minutes. Wh-what happened?"

    Sans shrugged, but motioned to invite Alphys inside the lab. She accepted reluctantly.

    "I-I figured I'd b-bring lunch for us. I-if you don't mind." She explained. Alphys handed Sans a sandwich, which he gladly accepted, though she put a bag containing more foodstuffs on the floor. The human was enjoying his meal, but vaguely heard Alphys' long winded explanation of why she'd brought food and how her father had helped make the sandwiches.

    "—a-and then h-he suggested adding s-some p—!" Alphys stopped abruptly, causing Sans to looked up expectantly. "Wh-what are those papers?"

    Sans blinked. Without realizing it, he'd pulled out the papers from the office that he'd folded into his pocket. His mismatched eyes drifted down and scanned the papers once more. "Just some docs for the doc."

    Alphys snorted, but was quickly deterred from laughing. Her curiosity drove her, as Sans had predicted. "Wh-what do they say?"

    "Uh," the human read over the document before shrugging and passing them off, "Looks like math."

    Alphys grabbed them hesitantly while munching on some monster food Sans didn't immediately recognize. Her eyes squinted in something akin to confusion, "Y-you can r-read this? It just looks l-like some doodles. O-or a code of s-some sort."

    After she slid the papers back over to him, Sans re-read the notes. It was just a series of symbols. Mailbox. Hand. Smiley face. Bomb. Mismatched symbols that meant a lot and Sans still couldn't explain why. "Well," he said, opting to completely ignore Alphys' growing distrust and skepticism, "it looks like math. Numbers and equations and all that."

    The reptile's eyes were still thinned together in a look of exasperated leeriness. She replied anyway, "An equation? Wh-what for?"

     The real problem was that Sans wasn't sure and the doctor wouldn't tell him. Sans had asked on the elevator ride back to the main lab, but was rewarded with silence and misdirections. Even now, the scientist's lack of input was slightly off putting. "Not sure. Looks complicated, though."

    Alphys glared, but it was mostly harmless. Sans noticed she wasn't wearing her father's lab coat anymore. Instead, she donned a frilly-looking pink dress. "C-could you tr-translate it for me, then?"

    She seemed slightly embarrassed by the question, so the human replied quickly, "Sure thing." He paused, "As best I can, at least." He didn't bother explaining to Alphys that he couldn't actually translate the documents. Their relationship was strained as it was, and he didn't aim to worsen the load.

    Alphys seemed pleased. Or at least as pleased as she could get with the situation at hand, strange as it was. She looked around for a piece of paper and a pencil before realizing the door was shut and it was still light in the lab. "You got the lights to work."

    Sans hummed in validation. "Watt? You didn't think I could figure out something so simple?" Alphys giggled, but the jokester was too busy pretending to know what the paper said, as opposed to just knowing what it meant, to laugh. 

    Alphys was laughing but Sans couldn't hear her over the growing static in his head.

    (stop)

_**"I will do the rest."** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is great bc all that stuff i did earlier in the story no longer makes sense bc i'm adding too many plots that i hadn't planned for


	17. What Was Unknown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a turn for the worse.

Alphys was watching Sans with a mixture of confusion and fear. She'd been chatting away, laughing, mostly. Her newest friend was odd, to say the least. He was talkative and quiet. Shy and loud. But more than anything, Sans was cautious. It was a curious sort of cautiousness that made Alphys think he was hiding something from her.

And he was. Sans couldn't tell Alphys he was human. He couldn't tell Alphys about the saves. He certainly couldn’t tell Alphys that her king had kiled him in a previous timeline. There was a whole list of things that Sans couldn't tell Alphys so he didn't. Besides, Alphys was the least of his worries. What truly worried the human was whatever the doctor really had planned. His distrust of the doctor had started as a quiet feeling but as of late had become something more. Something darker. There was something about the way the scientist acted that made Sans think he was hiding something from him.

[And he certainly was.]

(start)

Alphys was watching Sans with a mixture of confusion and fear. When Sans tried to imagine why, all he could recall was the two of them chatting away, laughing, mostly. But his newest friend was giving him the strangest look. She looked distrustful.

So Sans nervously glanced down at the paper that was still in his hand as an excuse not to look at Alphys' wary glare. The paper was still written in a foreign hand (what else did you expect) and the paper was still yellowed with age and the paper was still ripped where too much pressure was applied and the paper was still covered in the black blood from his eye and the paper was still filled with equations and the paper was still covered in wet ink and the paper was still a paper but it wasn't. Sans' head still hurt and Alphys' eyes were still filled with distrust.

In Sans' hand was a pen, wet with ink and maybe something else. He let the utensil clatter to the tile floor noisily. Alphys jumped at the sound. His eyes were glazed over in mayber pain or just lack of coherent thought. Probably both.

"S-Sans?"

And he really wondered what was happening.

(---)

"Are you sure, doctor?"

(---)

The next time Sans blinked, his head was clearer. Which was to say that he could collect his thoughts long enough to wipe the black that had dribbled from his eye off of his face. He scanned the room, left eye closed to stem further spilling, finding Alphys a few feet away reading over the doctor's notes. Her eyes were focused, but wary of movement, so she noticed Sans' fideting almost immediately.

"S-Sans?" Alphys said, perking up a bit, "Y-you're awake! I-I wasn't s-sure what to d-do when you j-just f-fell over s-suddenly a-and—" The monster rambled on, only adding to Sans' monster of a headache. He held up a shaking hand to signal her to stop, which she did, albeit reluctantly. "O-oh! Y-you probably don't r-remember what happened! The d-doctor explained wh-what happened to me, though I g-guess you w-were sleeping wh-when he did."

She looked apologetic. Sans held his head in his hands, only removing them to wipe the still dripping goo from his eye."What did the doc have to say?"

"W-well," she began hesitantly, before steadying her usually shaking voice, "The doctor said that he sort of... took control over your body..?"

Sans' mind blanked for a moment. "What?"

"O-oh! H-he said it was r-relatively h-harmless! The d-doctor just w-wanted to w-work on the c-calculations, th-that's all! Th-the math is r-really interesting, too! S-see—"

Sans could tell the yellow monster was nervous of Sans' potential backlash and rightfully so. He took a moment to process what she had said. The doc had possessed him? The human wasn't aware that was even possible. For once, Sans wasn't proud to be proven right for his distrust of the voice. He

sighed, trying and mostly succeeding in controlling his growing rage and panic. Sans was too exhausted for emotions, anyway. "Alright, Alph. So the doc took control of my body, to, what? Work on those equations?"

Alphys nodded, broken from her speedy explanation. "Y-yeah. He s-said w-we'd get the r-research done f-faster if he could j-just do them alone."

The human lied back while letting out a heavy breath. This was all too much to be taking in at once, but he figured he get all the information before the scientist chose to intervene again. "What's the equation for?"

"Y-you were right when you s-said it was complicated." Alphys began with an embarrassed smile, "I-I couldn't understand m-most of it. S-see, I'm r-really into r-robots, n-not so much theoretical sc-sciences. Th-this anime called M—"

"Alph."

"O-oh! Right!" The monster jumped, "The d-doctor told me the equation, wh-when applied, will t-tear a hole in reality. H-he said it should help bring down the b-barrier! Isn't th-that wonderful, Sans! W-we get to be a p-part of history!"

But Sans wasn't fully confident in the plan. While he could see how perhaps tearing apart reality would help, he really didin't think it was a good idea. The list of things that could go wrong was infinite and Sans wasn't even remotely prepared to commit to something so utterly destructive. The human glanced at Alphys with one glazed over eye to see her look of equal discomfort, but overall resolve to the cause. Sans sighed. He really needed some time alone (that would be difficult) to think everything over, seeing as everything the doctor had done up until then had only added to the question and holes. He blinked. "What time is it?"

Alphys expected the question, "You p-passed out about th-thirty minutes ago. I-I've b-been trying to m-make sense of the n-notes the doctor t-took since then."

"That didn't really answer the question, Alph. How long was the doctor... in control of my body?" He was finding it mildly difficult to stay calm.

She paused. "W-well, i-it was only for an hour or s-so." Almost as an afterthought, she whispered, "H-he's not a bad guy S-Sans. The doctor t-told me all about some of the p-projects he's worked on a-and he's really smart. He s-says he just w-wants to get all the m-monsters out of the u-underground."

Sans was too tired to process everything at once. Instead, he let out a wet breath, "Thanks, Alph. I'm sure...I'm sure the doctor's a great guy."

(---)

Alphys left the labs shortly after that, telling Sans to rest and that she'd be over the next day to help with the project again. In the end, Sans was more confused than anything. He wasn't entirely sure when tearing apart reality became a project of theirs and he also wasn't sure what Alphys even helped with. To his knowledge, all the work done had been by the disembodied voice that had taken control over him.

Sans had questions, which he proceeded to ask to the thin air all around. No answer was returned, only irritating Sans further. He was tired of being left out of the loop. First by the doctor and now by Alphy, too. It was mildly irritating, only made worse by the fact that Sans couldn't even trust that he'd be in control of his body anymore.

One thing he had learned was that having someone take control over your body was exhausting. The human had been lying on the floor for the entirety of the day, not able to muster up the energy to sit up. The only occasions on which he had moved were once to throw up more of that black liquid and another time to steal the notes off of the floor.

Alphys was right. The doctor certainly was smart. The notes, still written in that strange language, were only more complicated now that the doctor had added onto them. The equation, some bits crossed out and others furiously added into tight spaces at the last second, was now wholly impossible for Sans to understand. Sans breathed in the scent of still wet ink and dropped the paper at his side.

He couldn't wrap his head around what was happening. The doctor didn't seem willing to provide answers, if his absence was anything to go by, and Alphys had run off without really answering any of Sans' questions. Sans didn't understand anything that was happening but he was too exhausted to find out.

Sans dreamt of a world in black and white that was less of a comfort than he had hoped.

(---)

_**"We are nearly there now, Sans."** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summer break starts today for me, and the plan is to finish this fic sometime over break. Get that squared away.
> 
> Anyway! The end is in sight, my friends. Between finals and all that, I wasn't sure could stay on schedule, but somehow that worked out. Expect the next update on Monday!
> 
> Side note: this story is completely off the rails at this point. None of this was supposed to be in the story, but the ending should still work out. Thanks for you patience.
> 
> Comments greatly appreciated!


	18. What Was After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are different than they used to be.

Sans dreamt in black and white. They were monochromatic not in the sense of good and bad; or truth and lie, but in the disconcerting way that the dreams felt eerily calm. The lack of color in the dreams was mostly reassuring, though the dreams often left him waking up sweating and breathing heavily. The human couldn't be sure why, seeing as he often forgot what he dreamt of when he woke up, aside from the fact that his dream world was void of variety. In the days since he had fallen in the underground, Sans' dreams had been focused on vague memories he wasn't entirely sure ever happened.

For as long as Sans could remember, he'd been dreaming of a monochrome world that he'd always forget.

(---)

Alphys came back. She had been returning to the lab everyday, for what, Sans was unsure. She was kind, though, and always brought some sort of snack. Sometimes she'd bring something for them to do that wasn't related to science, but not often. On these occasions, she'd ramble about her favorite anime, Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, for awhile before even saying hello. But it wasn't Alphys' obsession with anime that was bothering Sans so much.

The doctor had been taking control of Sans' body, everyday since the first, to do his research. Sans was least of all comfortable with this fact. If he couldn't trust in the control of his own body, then what could he trust? Not the doctor, certainly, and maybe... maybe not Alphys, either. The human was confused when it came to the yellow lizard. She kept returning to the labs even though Sans was nearly certain that she didn't help the scientist with his calculations, but he couldn't quite figure out what she was doing. The doctor hadn't made any effort to reciprocate communications with Sans, but what little they did speak was the voice's request to speak with Alphys.

He would have liked to ask Alphys what was going on, but she was about as faithful to her silence as the doctor was to his.

Sans had been hiding out in the labs for about a week, then. For some reason, the royal guard had all but stopped searching for him, as far as he could tell. Occasionally, the refugee thought he heard the clanging armor of the guards, but the attack he expected never came.

Seven days after his first experience with body-snatching, Sans finally asked Alphys what was going on between her and the doctor.

Eight days after Sans' first experience with body-snatching, Alphys finally answered. "He's been telling m-me about my father," she smiled shyly, "i-in return for a f-few favors, I mean."

Sans blinked. "What favors?"

She waved her tail, feeling caged in. Alphys glanced at the clock on the wall. Despite being cracked, it still kept reasonable time within a minute or two. Both of them had talked about making a step to reach the clock out of chairs, but neither had ever actually done anything about it. At this point, it was likely neither ever would. "I-I should really get t-to work on the project, Sans. M-maybe we can talk about-t this l-later."

"Or we could talk about this now." Sans was really getting sick of being left out of everything. And it was his body, for goodness' sake! He was feeling cagey at the lack of information coming his way and the obvious attempts of Alphys to hide things from him. The

human was tired of being left in the dark about what the doctor was doing and saying through his body.

Sans' left eye flared with a sudden color that his dreams would never see.

(stop)

 

_And in his dreams, Sans understood everything._

 

(start)

It was a shame he always forgot them when he woke up. It was also a shame that lately Sans had been waking up everyday that week with a headache (pounding louder than usual) and that slimy black stuff dripping out of his left eye. He'd taken to keeping it closed, which was unusual at first but he got used to quickly. One tended to adapt fast when they had to, and Sans really had to do something about the black blood spilling from his eye. Only his left eye bled, Sans noticed. It was always his left eye that was rebelling against social expectations, like being the same color as the other one and not bleeding everyday. His eye was probably important in the whole doctor fiasco, but the human put it on the back burner while he pursued other... complications.

Like how Alphys and the doctor had stopped talking to him. It was a subtle sort of thing. The yellow dinosuar still held conversations with him and brought him food, but it was a different type of talking than that first day. She was distant, really. It was almost like she was coming to see Sans out of obligation rather than anything else. The human would have understood her motivation to come and find out about her father and maybe break the barrier along the way but at some point Alphys' motivations had shifted to something more scientific. As he found the pieces and put them together, Sans was starting to see the whole picture. He really did not like what he was beginning to see.

Sans spared a glance at the broken wall clock. Three hours had passed since the doctor and Alphys worked on their science. The room was dark and Alphys was apparently gone.

That was another thing Sans had noticed. Alphys coming and going when the doctor was in control or when Sans was passed out. He recalled rather vividly how just a few days ago, the monster had waited for Sans to wake up so they could chat. That had stopped, of course. Sans wondered how long it would be before she stopped with the kind politics altogether.

Not long, if Sans was judging the situation correctly (he was).

For all the human hated about the doctor and his recent hobby, Sans found solace in the quiet that came after he woke up. Sure, he was always exhausted, his head hurt, and his vision

was severely limited to only one eye, but it was quiet. He had noticed that the doctor was often without the energy or motivation to pester Sans after one of his sessions, so his brain was mercifully silent in that one regard.

Sans was vaguely reminded of better times when the doctor had mentioned having very little energy. The human snorted quietly to himself in the dim room. There was no response, not that the human even remotely expected one. Things were different now.

Which was to say things were lonely. He had always been lonely, to some extent. Above ground he'd had only a mother to talk to and underground only passing friendships. Toriel, Grillby, Alphys... They were temporary fixes to a problem Sans wasn't entirely sure he even had. The guard was a major problem passed now. Well, it was still a dilemma, getting out of the underground without being killed by the goat king, but something had shifted in that as well.

When the doctor lessened his hold on Sans and Alphys had gone, the human was left alone with his thoughts. At first, he tried to figure out how and why the doctor had taken control over his body. Later, he began to wonder what role Alphys played in all this. Then Sans just wondered where things had gone wrong. It was when he was alone with his thoughts that he coveted and hated in equal measure.

This was the quiet that came after.

[This was the calm that came before.]

 

(---)

 

_**"You can't back out now."** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is near!   
> I just finished the next chapter this morning and expect there to be two or three more chapters after that. I've been thinking about doing a sequel to this fic that would carry through to Frisk's journey through the underground, but only if any of you would read it.  
> As always, comments appreciated and thanks for reading!


	19. What Was Reaching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The countdown begins.

Sans had slept for two days after the final session. He wasn't sure why, of course, because Alphys adamantly refused to tell him, but he had his suspicions. When he woke at last, the lights in the lab were still on. Alphys was standing a few feet away, tittering nervously to herself.

Sans coughed, finding enough energy to mutter the monster's name, "Alph?"

She jumped, but looked over at him in a nervous expectation. "Y-you're awake! G-good!"

The human got to his feet, a second wind of energy hitting him. "How long?" He always asked the question when he saw Alphys, whether it be the next day or right after he woke up, and she'd answer. It was about the only thing Alphys would answer nowadays; every other question being ignored or replied to with monosyllabic grunts.

"F-forty-eight hours," Alphys said with little conviction, "T-twelve with the d-doctor."

Sans breathed out a gust of air that smelled of unwashed teeth. He'd lost track of time quite a while ago. Weeks? Days? How long had he been in the lab? There were no calendars in the lab, and even if there were, Sans didn't trust that they'd be recent. The only clock in the lab was off by however long.

Alphys had more to say, "W-we—um—finished the m-machine." She must have seen the confusion written on Sans' face because she quickly tacked on, "If w-we did everything right, then it should t-tear a whole in reality. Remember?"

She looked away, picking up papers and swiping off a desk that Sans had forgotten about. The human was still mildly confused on what the game plan was. He couldn’t be sure why they needed to tear apart reality or why Alphys was still there or if his hypothesis was correct and to them he was really just—(Sans refused to accept the truth).

Sans wanted to ask more questions that he knew he'd never get a straight answer to.

 

(---)

 

Alphys was consistent in her lack of answers for Sans, but in the end, it didn't matter. The doctor's voice, muffled and quiet rang out about thirty minutes after the human woke up.

(Alright, Alphys. I believe we can begin now.)

It was an odd sort of message that left Alphys hurriedly moving toward Sans and helping him to his feet. For his part, Sans was confused, though his muddled mind stopped him from questioning what was happening so much. The yellow monster propped Sans unsteadily on her scaled shoulders and aided him across the lab. The human limped along in compliance.

With sudden realization, Sans noticed that Alphys' lab coat was not her own.

 

(---)

 

It was a process, working the two of them into the elevator. Alphys struggled to carry the weight of Sans on her shoulders (and a much heavier something weighing down on her neck). Sans limped sluggishly along, feeling the effects of being under the doctor's complete control.

Beyond the elevator was the same long hallway Sans remembered, and with moderate suspicion, he noticed Alphys seemed just as familiar with the landscape (if not more so). She lead him confidently toward the doctor's office with a conviction that was unlike her. The human remembered the location of the scientist's office from him previous visit. Alphys stopped in front of it and pulled out the key Sans had never had. It turned out she knew the passcode by heart, too.

 

(---)

 

The tarp wasn't on the machine anymore and the office had been cleaned up nicely. Looking at it now, Sans had a much better idea of what the room actually looked like. The piles of papers spread out previously were neatly stacked and filed away and the office and been sweeped of dust.

A fading figure stood beside the machine and Sans recognized the doctor for his towering frame and crooked grin. The doctor flickered in and out of existence but Sans wasn't frightened in the slightest, despite the monster's cracked face and the odd glint in his eyes. He spoke, (Shall we commemorate this event with photographic documentation?)

Alphys smiled brightly at Sans' side. "G-good idea!" She pulled an ancient-looking camera out of somewhere and leaned Sans up against the wall. After setting up the camera, she ran to smile hesitantly beside the doctor and the human.

He didn't fully know what they were doing or why, but Sans smiled for all he was worth.

 

(---)

 

The doctor began speaking to Alphys as if she were some sort of prodigy or student and he was the mentor. She followed his instructions to the letter. Sans was observing the scene with a mixture of interest, curiosity, and discontent. That was, of course, ignoring the heavy set exhaustion that was weighing down his bones and thoughts. It appeared as though the doctor didn't, or couldn't, interact with the world around him, simply tasking Alphys with doing some final adjustments.

"All done!" Alphys said, her lack of stutter shocking Sans out of his reverie.

The doctor seemed pleased, letting out a content hum. (Well done. Are you ready then, Alphys?)

The yellow monster glanced to the machine, full and menacing yet indescribable for all it was. She smiled softly, shyly. "I think so."

Next, the shadow of a monster turned to Sans. (And you? Are you prepared in full?)

The only real problem was that Sans still didn't know what he was supposed to be prepared for and the doctor didn't seem willing to share that information. He spared a glance at Alphys, who looked at the tiled floor with sudden interest. Somehow, Sans shuffled forward a foot or so and rested the palm of his hand over the smooth metal of the mysterious machine. It pulsed with electronic life below his fingers and a shock travelled up his arm and into his left eye. He could feel the strange darkness trying to spill out once more, but was borderline grateful that he had learned to keep the one eye closed constantly. "Yeah."

He wasn't sure why he said it and the doctor would know that. But it didn't matter, not really. Sans had figured out what was going on in the labs a while ago. His hypothesis started with the doctor. The way he could control Sans' body was eerily familiar, but he was only used for practicality as opposed to recreation. His next clue was Alphys. She'd grown distant rather quickly after the doctor took control. If he had to guess, Sans would make the assumption that the doctor didn't really have much to say about the dinosaur's father and more to answer of her scientific inquiries. Somewhere along the lines something had gone seriously wrong. Somewhere, halfway through this plan to escape the underground, Sans had become their test subject.

But Alphys was already flipping the switch.

 

(---)

 

[15]

It wasn't instantaneous, like one might think. Instead, it started out as a quiet sort of tingling in the base of his skull. A quiet sort of calling, beckoning his closer into the darkness. He tried not listen, really, but it was quiet in the most persistent of ways to the point that it might just be loud.

[14]

It wasn't a visual thing, like one might think. Instead, it started out as a buzzing sort of feeling that shook the room and didn't at the same time. A vibration that shook the soul in his body and drew out the darkness within. He tried not to let it pull him in but it shook him in a way that reminded him he wasn't quite as whole as he remembered.

[13]

[12]

It wasn't quite as calm as one might think. Or, rather, as the doctor had thought. Instead, it was violent. It tore at the space around, quietly and without motion, but tore nonetheless. It invited the darkness where it didn't belong.

[11]

It was the void and they had just welcomed it into reality.

[10]

[09]

But that was fine. That the plan, in some roundabout way. Alphys went silent at Sans' side, but maybe she just wasn't there anymore. He stood on his own, now, staring ahead at what he assumed the void to be. [08] From the machine originated something that wasn't loud and wasn't calm and wasn't visual. But he could hear it and see it and he could feel it. The void was pulling Sans in, calling him in like a magnet might. [07] To Sans' left, he could see the form of the doctor flicker more than ever beside him. The scientist strode powerfully towards the opening rift with the confidence of someone who knew that this opening was more stable than it was.

[06]

[05]

[04]

Sans' eye was its own waterfall at this point. The black something drooled out of his left eye despite its being closed but Sans didn't reach up to dry it. Instead, he reached out. The void, so inexplicably calm, was drawing, drawing, always drawing him in.

[03]

[02]

The doctor, still to his left, trudged forward slowly, as if the floor had suddenly become a gunky mud trying to weigh him down. As the monster moved slower, Sans only moved faster. Despite all rational thought, Sans reached out to the void.

[01]

[And the void reached back.]

 

(---)

 

The feeling of free-falling into the void filled Sans with determination.

 

(---)

 

**_"This is everything I've been working for."_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still working on that sequel idea, but I'd like to finish this before brainstorming another one. Anyway... if I did do a sequel, the biggest question I'd have right now is whether I should continue the story right after this one ends, during Flowey's resets, or during Frisk's. That's something to think about, I guess.
> 
> Comments greatly appreciated, as always!


	20. What Was (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A memory.

_That day, two humans fell into the underground._

_Two brothers, in fact. The older, Sans, despite his age was the shortest. His hobbies varied, and were impossible to pinpoint at any given time. So long as it wasn't related to working or schooling, the brother was accepting of the pastime._

_The younger, Papyrus, was considerably taller than the former despite the age gap. There difference in age wasn't great, but the gap was noticeable. Papyrus was an outgoing fellow, driven forward by his desire to please and his bravery pushing him to accomplish what little could._

_The brothers fed off of each other. Without Sans, Papyrus would be outcasted for his zany personality. Without Papyrus, Sans would not have had anyone to stand up for him. One without the other seemed unfathomable._

_Their sense of togetherness was strengthened for their desire for adventure. It had started as a small idea; a small rebellion. Climb Mt. Ebott because everyone said it was dangerous. Climb Mt. Ebott because no one returned and that couldn't happen to you could it? So they climbed the mountain and never climbed down._

_When the brothers disappeared altogether, people mourned, but they mourned them as one. At least the brothers would have each other._

_And they did._

_\---_

_The two brothers, hand in hand, stood up from the mucky earth and peered around. It appeared, after a quick once over, that neither Sans nor Papyrus were injured in any way from the fall. Sans, contrary to popular opinion, wasn't an overly protective brother. He was young and had other priorities than caring for his younger sibling just as Papyrus had many focuses in_

_life that weren't his older brother. This reservation didn't stop them from running to each other the second they woke up from the fall._

_"Sans!" Papyrus was the first to wake, but his calling woke his brother up quick enough._

_The older brother blinked his eyes open and looked around. His body was sore, but he stood up quickly to let a numbness wash over his body. Sans looked up. "Huh. So I guess that's why you're not supposed to climb the mountain."_

_"This is serious, Sans!" Papyrus nervously looked up as well. They had fallen quite far, the hole they fell from now a speck of light somewhere above. His attention turned back to his brother, stretching his limbs out. "Are you okay?"_

_Sans laughed, but it was half-hearted. "Sure, bro. I guess you could say that I really fell for you, huh?"_

_A pause. Then a groan. "Sans! That was terrible and this isn't the time to be making jokes!"_

_"Yeah, you're right bro. That one really fell short." Sans looked away coyly, but a hint of fear still dented his image._

_Papyrus grumbled noisily from somewhere nearby, but Sans was focused on the fall they had taken. He wasn't good at math or physics and whatnot, but he was almost certain that fall should have killed them. It didn't, but he supposed that was a good thing._

_\---_

_Not after long, the brothers left the chasm. It was eerily dark and both brothers agreed that they should at least look for a way out of the cave system. The next room was dark, but a still growing patch of grass was somehow illuminated. From somewhere ahead, footsteps sounded._

_Papyrus was the first to take notice of it. "F-fear not, brother! I, the Great Papyrus shall protect you from whatever monster lies ahead!"_

_Sans could hear the hesitant trill of fear that clung to his brother's voice, but he was no more brave than his brother. Where his brother's bravery was inspiring, Sans was preoccupied with trying to figure out what sort of creature lived in the mountain. He shuffled to stand next to his brother in the patch of wild grass. The brothers looked forward fearfully._

_The footsteps continued. Close, closer, closer still. "Oh!"_

_Sweet and calm, the voice was not the sharp growl of a beast the brothers had been expecting. Sans looked up first, shoving his brother's shoulder to catch his attention. The monster... certainly wasn't what Sans had expected. Going off of Papyrus' sharp intake of breath, he assumed his brother was caught off guard as well._

_Sans' homocromal eyes widened in surprise as he appraised the cave-dwelling creature before them. The monster's form had worked its way out the cavern's shadows, the unnatural light coloring her figure white and purple. Wait a minute, was this creature a—_

_"Oh you have goat to be kidding me right now."_

_The goat monster wore a confused expression for a moment before her face cleared with understanding. A large paw rose to her face to cover her mouth and soothing laughter that Sans briefly mistook for crying._

_"Oh! Hahahaha!" Her laughter was gentle in a way neither brother expected. "If you would not mind, I could shed some light on the situation."_

_She seemed to pick up on both of the boys' confusion, for which Sans was somewhat grateful. Papyrus, despite his understandable hesitance, groaned loudly at Sans' side before complaining about the use of puns. Sans smirked playfully and Toriel shared his look of childish glee._

_Once both brothers recovered enough from their temporary fear of the goat monster, she spoke calmly, "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. It has been quite awhile since a human has come here, let alone two at once. May I ask your names?"_

_"I am the Great Papyrus!" He seemed to have gotten over his fear, instead taking the opportunity to show off to the monster._

_Toriel laughed kindly and quietly praised the brave child before turning to Sans, "And may I ask your name, child?"_

_The older brother stuck out his hand for Toriel to shake, "I'm Sans. Sans the human."_

_Toriel's own hand enveloped Sans' in a meaty grip. "Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." She grabbed the younger brother's hand, too._

_\---_

_She led them through a series of puzzles of rooms that were only mildly impressive. The puzzles and traps may have been made more of a challenge had Toriel not smothered the_

_children with overprotective yet helpful tips. In the end, she ended up walking with them the whole way, chatting, mostly. The group of three had a decently long talk about the world the boys had fallen into. The underground. The monsters. Toriel also took the time to explain mercy to the brothers._

_It was sort of a shock, the transition from living above ground to the slightly depressing world of the underground. But it was a world that fit the brothers well._

_They stayed for a long time._

_Toriel was kind and very willing to care for the brothers. She warned them of the dangers outside of the ruins and the brothers weren't keen on testing her advice. So they stayed for a long time._

_\---_

_Sans huffed out a breath of nervous energy. His brother, always looking for adventure, had suggested that they maybe leave the ruins. Not for long, of course. Just for awhile to look around and see what Toriel was always warning them about. A small idea; a small rebellion._

_"I don't know, Pap." Sans sighed, "Are you sure it's a good idea to leave the ruins..? Toriel always said the monsters out there are dangerous. You wouldn't want to ruin everything we've got here with Toriel, would you?"_

_"Sans! You know I hate those stupid jokes of yours! Why can't you just be more like me, the Great Papyrus!" He looked at Sans' concerned frown and added, "Can we just explore, please? We won't go too far, I promise. We'll be back in time for Toriel to have finished making her pie."_

_The older brother frowned shyly. He didn't like this. But it couldn't hurt to just..._

_His brother looked exasperated, but kept walking down the hall anyway. Finally, he stopped in front of a tall, menacing looking door. "It'll be fine, brother; now is this it? Push it open with me, will you? I, the Great Papyrus, can't do all the heavy lifting around here! Nyehehe!"_

_Their combined strength was enough to push open the door. It shut resolutely behind them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've started work on the sequel despite the fact that I haven't even finished this one yet. I'm pretty excited for where the next one is going.
> 
> Anyway! Thanks for sticking with this story, those of you who have. And thanks to any new readers! Comments always appreciated!


	21. What Was (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A memory continues.

_Papyrus was trying his best not to cry. For a kid, he was doing pretty well, all things considered. 'All things' being that the brothers had effectively locked themselves out of Toriel's ruins._

_"Sans, the door won't open!"_

_Sans, for his part, tried to come off as calm for his brother's sake. Inside, he was an anxious mess. "Okay. Okay. Calm down, bro. Let's just, uh, think for a moment."_

_Papyrus stopped banging on the door, so Sans used the quiet to examine his surroundings. The underground was surprisingly snowy, despite everything Sans knew about weather. There were monster tracks in the snow. In the snow that Sans would never fully understand._

_There were monster tracks in the snow and Sans was very, very scared._

_\---_

_But so was Papyrus, so Sans did all he could to calm his brother down. In the end, they ended up adventuring just a little bit in some messed up attempt to at least make the rebellion semi-successful. Luckily for them, the snowy path was relatively small, so if Toriel's voice called out from within the ruins, the brother's would be able to hear and come back crying. Unluckily for them, the snowy path was relatively small, so if another monster were to find them there would be nowhere to run._

_And there wasn't._

_\---_

_It had been about an hour later and Toriel's voice had never called for them. Only silence, now. But they had each other and some vague hope neither brother fully understood._

_\---_

_It had been about an hour later and the royal guard had called for them. With claws and fangs. And violence. And blood. And Sans' vision swam. He wasn't able to comprehend what was happening between the barking and screaming. Oh, the screaming. His brother's screams were the echo of fear and pain. Papyrus' screams were loud but not so loud as to drown out the sound of tearing flesh and the splash of crimson on the pure ice below. The growl of wolves and the screaming of a child. The echo of cries and the wet breaths of triumph._

_Sans was as silent as the red tinted snow._

_\---_

_"It's quiet now."_

_\---_

_It was probably shock or something else, but Sans blocked out the memory of whatever happened in that snowy field. When he came to, the curious frown of a crack faced monster was staring him down. The human opened his mouth to speak, but just sat there with his mouth opened in silence._

_"You're awake, good." The monster spoke confidently, "I was afraid the dogs were too rough on you, like they were with the other one."_

_Sans shook his head to clear his mind. The other one... was this monster talking about Papyrus? The human sat up in realization, "My brother! I-is Papyrus okay? What happened? Where's Toriel?"_

_The monster huffed loudly, but nodded as if he expected the questions. "Yes, it is unfortunate about... Papyrus. I had hoped to have the two of you alive for this but the guard dogs were too rough. Too eager." He must have noticed the devastated look on Sans' face, because he quickly added, "Your brother isn't dead yet, of course. But he's on the brink of death. I don't think that there is much I could do for him now. Unfortunate."_

_Sans wasn't sure if he should cry or scream. His brother dying? This had to be some sort of joke, right? "Th-there's no way. My bro can't die. N-no."_

_The monster regarded the human for a moment. "Oh. I apologize. This must be a difficult time for you."_

_"No. No. No. No." He took up the mantra as he stared in shock at his hands. The monster roughly grabbed Sans by the shoulders, forcing the human to look up._

_"Calm down now, human. If you would be quiet and listen for a moment then you could hear my proposition for you." That shut Sans up pretty fast. The monster continued without hesitation, "Before I continue, my name is Dr. W.D. Gaster, and you may call me as such. I—"_

_Sans growled lowly, "I don't care who you are! I just want my brother to live!"_

_"—work as the royal scientist, which puts me in the odd position where I actually can save your brother."_

_"Oh."_

_"Yes, oh." Gaster continued, a lilt of irritation playing in his tone, "Now if you'll just listen. I've been working on a project lately that will... distort reality, let's say. I won't go into detail, for the sake of time, but effectively, the machine, when completed should make it possible to save your brother, among other things."_

_Sans was skeptical, to say the least. The lack of real information was somewhat concerning. He voiced this doubt aloud._

_Doctor Gaster laughed somewhat. "That's alright. You couldn't help with the machine anyway."_

_"Then why are you telling me this? Just help my brother!" The elder brother was beginning to wonder where Papyrus even was._

_"I have another hypothesis as to what may save your brother, but this I would need your assistance with. It's more risky, but also more immediate." He thought for a moment before motioning widely with his holed hands, "Honestly, if you want your brother to live, I recommend this option."_

_"Risky. How so?" Sans calmed down with a breath._

_Gaster smiled crookedly. "You could die along with your brother."_

_The human blinked up at the monster. "What. How is that the best option?"_

_"The likelihood of your brother surviving until I can finish the Void Distortion Project is low." He said simply, "Though more of a risk on your behalf, if you make your decision soon, then your brother has a better chance of waking up ever again."_

_Sans was silent. Could he make that risk? His life was a pretty big cost but... his brother might still live. "Can I see him? My brother?"_

_The royal scientist looked put off by the question. "I'd perfer you didn't. He's in a stable condition, though. I can assure you."_

_But he couldn't be silent forever. "Can I think it over?"_

_\---_

_It didn't take him long. In fact, only two hours later, a knock of Gaster's door woke him from his trance. Sans stood at his office door, face resolute despite the sadness the wore his face down._

_"Welcome back." Gaster didn't looked surprised in the slightest, "I didn't expect you for some time."_

_Sans could read the lie on the doctor's face, "Oh... Hey, Gaster. I've been thinking about your... proposition."_

_"Ah. I assume you accept, then?" He looked pleased with himself, but not at all shocked by the human's resolve, "Are you ready to begin?"_

_"I don't know. Will it really work? You said yourself it was a risk." Sans sighed, rubbing his temples, "I want to help my brother but... I don't even know what you want me to do."_

_Gaster frowned down at the human, "We don't have all the time in the world, Sans, so you'd best hurry. I can assure you this is a choice you won't regret, dear Sans."_

_"Are you sure, doctor?" Sans wasn't. This was reckless and stupid and impulsive and his brother was as good as dead._

_"You doubt me..?" The royal scientist seemed to laugh,"There is no need. I am very good at what I do, child."_

_Sans still looked unsure, but the doctor was eager to get started with whatever he had planned. "Now then, let's get to work."_

_"I... Yeah. Sure. Let's do it. What do I have to do, anyway?"_

_"Just lie down here. I will do the rest." He motioned Sans towards a metal table, equipped with straps for holding something down._

_"Alright..." Sans said, heaving himself up onto the cold steel. His heart was thudding from somewhere in his chest and something in his head was telling him to get off that table and run. Whatever was happening was not good. He couldn't trus this doctor, not really. But what could he do for his brother other than try?_

_Gaster was fiddling with a variety of scientific looking equipment in another room before returning with something that Sans regarded warily. The doctor was quick to bind Sans down. "We are nearly there now, Sans." The human couldn't sit up anymore, seeing as he was strapped tightly down to the table, but he struggled a little to see what the scientist was doing. Gaster moved into his view suddenly, holding a glowing, crimson injection needle. "Please prepare yourself accordingly." He summoned Sans' soul out of its fleshy prison._

_The doctor seemed unconcerned with Sans' wellbeing as he pierced the newly formed, shimmering soul with the needle. It was an odd feeling that followed. Burning, yet not. The_

_searing pain wasn't physical or mental, but it was powerful. The pain was passionate in that it was constant. The red liquid suddenly became all Sans ever knew._

_Gaster was speaking somewhere above Sans' haze. The human realized he'd been screaming. "W-what..?"_

_"...Have you not been listening to me?" He said after a moment when the human's incessant screeching had stopped, replaced by wet gasps for air, "You'll have to pay better attention next time, won't you?" Sans' focus flickered in and out. "This is it, Sans. You can't back out now. This is everything I've been working for." Dr. Gaster's mask was pure white, though cracked where Sans imagined one may show normal emotions. The monster was smiling an unsettling smile that was all his own. "Now then, let's continue."_

_The human couldn't focus over the pain. It really was something, that burning pain. Sans' screams became the whitenoise he cherished. His loud pleading was a welcome distraction from the mad ramblings of Doctor Gaster and his tools. The red needle wasn't alone in its assault, soon to be followed by something that looked eerily like a scalpel, among other things. But that was fine. At least it wasn't silent. At least he had his screams._

_Gaster was still smiling, "Let's aim for a better ending this time, Sans."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The memory ends and the next chapter is absolute garbage. Honestly, I highly recommend skipping the next chapter. There is nothing there for you.
> 
> //am i done yet


	22. What Is Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans does some thinking.

Sans woke up on a bed of golden flowers.

It was a tedious sort of waking up that made his bones feel like they were being pulled out of a thick, black gelatin. Pulling him in, reluctantly releasing him. It wasn't entirely untrue. Sans looked down at his hands. They were shaking, but aside from a few scrapes, they were fine. He was fine.

The human looked up. A long fall. Certainly a familiar one. The golden flowers that made Sans' bed were comforting in that familiarity, but disconcerting all the while. He knew this place. Sans knew this place.

Sans was back in the ruins. Somehow. He paused in thought, recollecting himself and assessing his injuries from the fall. They were minimal. So instead of dwelling on that, Sans tried to recall what had happened. How had he ended up back in the ruins, primarily.

When Sans thought back, it was like remembering an entire lifetime. Everything he'd done in the underground and then another, entirely separate memory of the underground. Two memories of the same instance. The memories hurt his head. They had been suppressed for

long enough, but it certainly was a shock to re-embrace them. Memories, swirling in his head, looking for a place to orient themselves and finding nothing but uncertainty. Sans couldn't place them properly. How could he forget all of this? He'd been to the underground before? But that didn't make sense. How come he couldn't remember it until then? The human sighed and rubbed his temples. He needed to calm down and think.

"Okay," he said to no one, "So I've definitely been in the underground before. With Papyrus my... brother." Sans stared ahead blankly, trying to collect his thoughts and the images he suddenly recalled. "I have a brother."

The doctor's voice was silent. A non-answer to a non-question. Static answered Sans' call.

The human was uncertain of the mess of memories in his head. Apparently, he had known the doctor then, Dr. Gaster, as it were. The scientist who told him lies and Sans, the human who had agreed regardless.

Sans just rested in the bed of golden flowers. Thinking. Recalling. Trying to understand the memories and really make sense of them. He wasn't sure how long he sat, just thinking back. But when he finally stood up, it was with a renewed goal. Find out what the doctor knew, of course. Wherever that voice was, his silence was haunting. But that didn't matter. It never really had. Sans just wanted to save his brother.

Gaster didn't say a word.

\---

But as he was sneaking around the ruins, Sans realized that saving his brother might not even be possible. At that time, his brother had been dying. Though he couldn't be sure what had happened, Sans was older now than he had been in those memories. It was possible that Papyrus had died.

The real question was, did he trust the doctor enough to ask? The answer was probably closer to not trusting him. Whatever past they held was still very much a mystery to Sans. Despite his reservations, Sans whispered to the air, "Hey, Doc. You wouldn't believe all the stuff I just remembered."

A unsettling static rang in Sans' skull.

"I guess not." The human sighed out.

Sans wasn't sure what he was doing. Walking all the way back to the labs on some hunch that his maybe-dead brother might not actually be dead. He almost laughed at himself and his foolishness. Time could turn backwards, so why couldn't he act without real reason?

That was his conclusion, at least. Sans figured the time-jump he'd just done all the way back to the start of the underground was similar to the reloads the doctor had told him about. Another question for Gaster, he supposed.

\---

He walked through the ruins rather quickly, seeing as he knew all the puzzles. The stressful part was yet to come. Sans had run into a dilemma of sorts. He could use a rest at Toriel's, but he didn't want her to know that he had been there. She was kind, sure, but he had to leave anyway. Sans wasn't too keen on breaking the poor woman's heart all over again.

So he snuck out of the ruins. Toriel didn't come out of the house because Sans didn't step on the leaves. He wasn't lured in by the promise of pie because the goat monster never invited him in. It was a lonely feeling that came with sneaking out of Toriel's house.

But he still did it. There was no time to waste, really. On the off chance that Papyrus was still alive, Sans didn't want to hesitate. He had a feeling that any clues he might find would be in the laboratory.

Sans snuck down the stairs much like a thief.

\---

And out the door. Toriel wouldn't even know he'd been there. Which would be for the best, really, because he couldn't ever come back. The shock of the snow outside the ruins was less than it had been the first two times. Sans expected the cold just like he expected the footprints in the snow.

The human knew the path to Snowdin remarkably well. He was more cautious this time around, now knowing the dangers that came with alerting the royal guard. So when Sans came across some pawprints in the snow, he slowed down his walking speed and thought out a plan. He'd been thinking one up on the way over, and decided being more cognizant of where he was and how much noise he made was the only real solution.

\---

But Snowdin was still quiet when he got there. The townspeople evacuated, the guards on constant watch, and a human who knew his prison all too well. The guard dogs didn't bark, Grillby didn't take out the trash to investigate, and Sans made a mask out of a paper plate.

\---

Unydne was not lying in wait when Sans arrived in the soggy marshes of Waterfall. It didn't really matter to him, but he supposed the lack of popularity among monsters was a good thing. The last time he'd attempted to escape the royal guard had been a close call and Sans wasn't willing to try again. The human figured that Undyne wouldn't be a problem before entering Waterfall, seeing as he hadn't alerted the guard. He moved quickly and quietly.

Sans briefly panicked when he heard the crackling call of the old turtle from the last time. Whatever Gerson had been shouting about, Sans didn't wait to find out. He quickly hurried out of Waterfall, put off by how otherwise quiet it was.

\---

The laboratory was just as quiet and the lack of guards was reassuring. Sans was moderately surprised at how fast he could make it through the underground when he didn't stop to talk to anyone. It didn't matter much. The laboratory doors dinged open at his request.

Sans knew the location of the lights, reaching out and flipping them. The lights turned on with a click.

Even when bathed in light, the laboratory wasn't all that impressive. If anything, the room was rather disgusting; things covered in dust and something grimy Sans could identify. The room was equally unimpressive and disconcerting. But his focus wasn't on the state of the room for long. The dark, hulking figure of the doctor was watching Sans from somewhere up ahead.

Dr. Gaster's smile was as crooked as it always had been. (I believe there are some things we need to discuss, Sans.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't want to think about how terrible this chapter is. Also! Three more chapters left, I think. The final number of chapters has been jumping around a bit, but I think this will be absolute. I'm really excited for the sequel; the plot, however sketchy it is right now, is already looking pretty good. Thanks for reading//don't forget to comment!


	23. What Was Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A memory; repeated.

Gaster wasn't necessarily good at explaining things. He was much better at figuring things out and expecting others to already know what he was talking about. But some occasions forced his hand; like this one. There was no real way the human could know what he knew without preamble. It was a risky gamble. The doctor had to pass on his knowledge without Sans growing too distrustful and abandoning everything Gaster had been working for. There was a fifty-fifty chance Sans would help with the machine or leave outright. So instead of ignoring the human, Gaster had to start from the beginning.

_\---_

_Everyone knew him; that much wasn't really surprising. Dr. Gaster, royal scientist and close friend of the king, was good at what he did. Which, to most monsters, was complicated and not very interesting. It was a secret, moreorless, Gaster's true work. Monsterkind knew he was working to break down the barrier, for which they were grateful, but his methods were uncertain._

_Dr. W.D. Gaster was determined. At least, he had a copious amount of determination, or DT, as he liked to call it. It was a mysterious substance he'd been researching on the downlow for a few years at least, given to him by a source he would never disclose. DT's properties were unusual and hard to pinpoint on a good day, but he studied it anyway. If Gaster knew one thing about the red substance, it was that determination was rather powerful._

_At one point, Dr. Gaster had linked many properties of determination some of his other, lesser known studies. Timelines, souls, and even an undetermined X value Gaster had yet to identify were closely connected to the DT. He grew curious; if the determination was so closely linked to all of these things, would it somehow allow his to influence the variables? Unfortunately, Gaster had no real way to find out. Though he had nothing to test his theory on, the royal scientist did pick up speed on his working theory on timelines._

_It didn't take long, but Gaster focus of study shifted from the barrier to determination. When the king asked, he'd supply Asgore with the excuse that DT may help break the barrier. That wasn't entirely a lie. The power of determination could potentially do anything. But Asgore didn't seem to agree, and instead tasked the royal scientist with powering the underground._

_So Gaster started work on the core. The task was a heavy one and the work was complicated, but the scientist's mind was still drawn to the determination studies. The king had supplied him with assistants to help with the workload, but the way they regarded Gaster made them appear more like followers or worshipers. Gaster debated continuing his DT studies with the followers as test subjects, but had a decent amount of fear that they would report to the king._

_\---_

_He was a loss, really. Countless vials of determination and nothing to use them on. Gaster looked down at his hands in contemplation. The bony white-ness of his hands glinted sharply in the light. He couldn't risk using them on any other monsters for fear that someone else would notice a change in them. If he ever wanted the king to sponsor his work with DT, he'd need to keep it legitimate and not illegal. The problem with determination was that it was dangerous and highly unstable. Using it on anyone else could have catastrophic consequences. A smile lit his face. Gaster had looked at all the possible ways to test the determinatoin and_

_came to only one conclusion that could continue under Asgore's radar. He had countless vials of determination and one perfectly healthy skeleton to use them on._

_\---_

_Gaster began his research again, this time using himself as a test subject. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. Simply examining the properties of DT was nothing when compared to being in control of them. Though control was a strong word. The effects were almost instantaneous. His productivity, energy, and magic levels increased among others. But effects were all they were. There was no understanding or power over the timelines and no control over others he hadn't already had. Determination was a high and Gaster didn't want to come down._

_\---_

_[The world was a little darker than he remembered.]_

_\---_

_The royal scientist's output on the core project didn't dwindle, if anything it increased steadily alongside his determination studies. His followers didn't have to know he'd been injecting himself with DT and neither did the king._

_Gaster noticed very few negative impacts of injecting the DT into his soul. More than anything, the results were overwhelmingly positive. So he injected more._

_\---_

_Somewhere along this way, the DT became like a drug. He couldn't quit it and he didn't really want to. It muted his thoughts and ambitions replacing them with resolve and exactness. Which was to say that so long as he was determined, Dr. Gaster was willing to do anything for his research._

_\---_

_He kept at the research until there was nothing left to him but determination._

_\---_

_[Something dark was caught in Gaster's eye.]_

_\---_

_The core was finished and the underground rejoiced. But Gaster was restless and in desperate need of something more. His followers had grown tired of working late and without stop and had no real promise to Gaster. They lacked determination, but he wasn't willing to give any of his up; he already knew determination's effects on monsters personally. Rather, the royal scientist proposed a new project._

_He was curious about the more specific properties of the core. They'd created the core to power the underground without any real knowledge of what it truly was. The research was long, but Gaster often stayed up days at a time pouring over notes and injecting raw DT._

_Eventually, Gaster grew curious of what would happen if someone fell into the core. During the creation of the core, the crew had been incredibly careful. They didn't really know what powers they were messing with, and thus the utmost caution was used. Now that the core was complete, Gaster was determined to find out._

_The next day, one follower disappeared from reality._

_\---_

_[A darkness was building somewhere to Gaster's left. When he closed his eyes, it was still there.]_

_\---_

_And it was odd because no one remembered but Gaster, only igniting his desire to research determination and the core. When the doctor explained the abridged version of what had happened to their coworker, the followers began research on what lie beyond the core._

_\---_

_Void._

_The core was made of nothing and everything. Gaster found studying the void incredibly interesting mostly because of the properties it held. The void was here and there, nowhere and everywhere. The void was always and the void was never. That was his conclusion at least. Once something entered the void, it would always be there and it always had been. The group of scientists studied the effects of taking a part of the void out of the void, which had been a hassle in itself, and were surprised to learn that the void would attempt to pull itself back together._

_In a word, the void was complicated._

_\---_

_Void distortion was even more complicated, but they worked on it anyway. The followers worked to save the friend they didn't even remember and Gaster worked to satiate an undying curiosity. Different motivations aside, the group began work on the Void Distortion Project, which Asgore hesitantly allowed them to research on the basis of saving a monster. If all went well, the project would tear a hole in reality and allow them to 'save' the lost follower. Gaster was determined to see what they had created within the core._

_\---_

_The void was closely linked to Gaster's running theory on timelines. The work was rough and inaccurate, but it was something. He'd started studying timelines and alternate universes alongside the DT studies with the justification that they held similar properties. Gaster always suspected that anything was possible with enough determination, but no matter how hard he tried, Gaster could never turn back time._

_He was really rather useless. No. Maybe he just needed more determination._

_\---_

_[There was a darkness slowing blinding Dr. Gaster. When he injected determination, it only got darker.]_

_\---_

_He couldn't control time like the numbers seemed to indicate but that was fine. If more determination couldn't solve that problem liked he'd hoped, then the next best solution would be to enter the void. If the void was constant in the swirling mix of timelines then he would simply observe the world as everything turned to his design._

_\---_

_[Sometimes, the royal scientist could only see red.]_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally one long chapter, but I ended up splitting it into two. Next part Monday, as per usual.
> 
> ALSO: if all goes as planned, the final chapter will be put up next Friday and then I can get to work on the sequel. I have a pretty good idea of where I want to go with that, but I'm not sure if the idea I have is too different from this one, if that makes sense. Would anyone be upset if I did a radically different plotline? I sure hope not because I've already sketched out some ideas that I could maybe work with. Sorry.
> 
> Enjoy! Comments appreciated.


	24. What Was Darker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A memory, continued.

_On that day, two humans fell into the underground. Of course, it wasn't until awhile later that they actually worked up the courage to leave the ruins. It didn't take the guards long to pick up on the humans' presence which was both good and bad on Gaster's part. The appearance of humans was great, seeing as their souls were needed to break the barrier, another product of Gaster's research. On the other hand, the guards were overly excited and rough when capturing the two brothers._

_By the time the humans were transferred to his lab, Gaster was disappointed to learn that the youngest was near death. It wasn't all that bad, though. His soul was still usable. The only real downfall was on a more scientific front. But the older one was still very much alive._

_Gaster's followers hadn’t been called in to study the humans alongside him, the scientist made sure of that. The second he had heard that two humans had fallen, an idea began building itself up. Asgore still refused to acknowledge his determination research, focused more on the core and breaking the barrier. But here, lying before him in a heavy sleep, was a test subject so easily available it was stupid. Gaster had a near perfect excuse to keep the human alive and not harvest his soul. It was all so simple, he almost disregarded it._

_The taller, younger brother was hooked up to a series of tubes and machinery that supported his life just enough. The other human was still resting, dreaming darkly behind closed lids._

_Asgore didn't have to know, but Gaster may have lost his mind a long time ago. It probably had something to do with his reliance on determination, but that didn't stop the royal scientist from continually injecting it into himself. But there slept two human children and countless possibilities for his research he'd never even imagined._

_Determination was a very human quality, though neither of the fallen before him seemed to posses it. All the more reason to experiment. The idea had been building for awhile; could a life be saved by injecting determination into the soul? On paper, the plan was flawless, though reality tended to have other ideas._

_The younger brother didn't even flinch when the determination entered his soul._

_\---_

_[The darkness only grew.]_

_\---_

_Nothing happened at first. Actually, nothing happened at all. To say Gaster was disappointed would be an understatement, but his determination wouldn't let him give up so easily._

_The royal scientist theorized that perhaps determination had little effect on humans because it was a more common natural occurrence among them. On the other hand, perhaps the effects wouldn't be as immediate as they had been for him. Gaster wondered silently if perhaps the determination just didn't effect this particular human. Oh well. That's why he had two._

_\---_

_But the second human was only sleeping and still very much alive, making it slightly difficult to test determination's revival properties. Gaster debated simply killing the child and then introducing the DT, but decided against it. In the end, the royal scientist chose to study the human until it died._

_But... that would take a long time. Time. That was another thing Gaster was having troubles with. Why wouldn't it just bend to his will like the number's seemed to indicate? Perhaps since determination was a human quality, only humans had that power? Dr. Gaster wasn't sure, but there was only one way to find out._

_That's when the older human woke up._

_\---_

_They talked briefly and Gaster learned the human's name by checking his stats when he woke up. The human's stats were average for his age, the doctor noted. The royal scientist began explaining what was happening to the younger brother, Papyrus, to which Sans began panicking in response to._

_The child was awake but weakened with grief, so Gaster gave him hope in the form of Papyrus. It was sort of underhanded, but the royal scientist's understanding of the stages of grief helped in convincing the human. His bargaining chip was the brother's life and Sans' payment was his own. Yet the older human bought everything Gaster had to say, though none of it was technically a lie. By studying Sans, the doctor's understanding of humans would increase, thus bettering his chances of saving Papyrus._

_Gaster also had an alternative solution that may keep Papyrus alive long enough for him to study. In fact, this alternate solution would solve two of Gaster's problems, and potentially a few more. But the risks were great, and the royal scientist wasn't sure he was determined enough to change the outcome if it were bad._

_\---_

_The human agreed to Gaster's demands and submitted himself for his brother. Gaster wasn't sure he expected the human to agree so readily, but Sans did and the scientist at least had the courtesy to be somewhat grateful. But he wasn't, really. The human didn't have a choice either way._

_So Gaster performed the experiment. Determination was a must; he had to know if humans could possess the time manipulation skills he had predicted. But the human child was_

_loud and pleading. Gaster didn't really care to listen to it, so he moved on to something else he'd been thinking about._

_If the human child could manipulate time, then who was to say they wouldn't reset back to the overworld? It bothered Gaster some, that the child could reset the world and he would be none the wiser, and if he did retain his memories, then it would be impossible to experience the world above. So the royal scientist turned to plan B._

_Sans' eye was scratched from the fight with the dogs, though he guessed the child hadn't even noticed what with all the stress of the situation. It was unlikely to heal without proper care, and the human would likely lose sight in it any moment now. Instead of simply healing it, Gaster went through with a rather risky surgery that benefited him and hurt him in equal measure._

_\---_

_It started with a dark thought, a quiet rebellion against everything he ever knew. Somewhere along his journey, Gaster became too determined. Determination was a dangerous thing. It was a poison to the mind for all the power it gave. One felt empowered because they lost the part of themselves that feared. One gained control over time and space because they were disowned by reality. Determination was a dark thought that turned into something worse over time. It really just couldn't be stopped._

_The royal scientist once built a machine to extract determination from someone. He told himself he would use it when the determination took too much of him away. Instead, it grew dusty in the back of his lab._

_Dusty like the dust building on his soul. From dying, probably. He had a grand idea of implanting a part of his soul into the eye of the child screaming before him. And he did it, too. Glowing yellow and some blue that the human held previous. The human child named Sans now had heterochromic eyes. One hazel, the other that shocking blue, but each sclera still white._

_Gaster was dusty like the machine in his lab. Like the machine that could have saved him along time ago but he never gave the chance. His hands were crumbling, breaking apart from the center. It was repulsive, watching his body turn into a dusty cloud._

_The royal scientist was only still for a moment to witness his body crumble to dust. Where had he gone wrong? Other cuts and scrapes he'd received were quickly repaired by the determination, but the second he tore apart his soul, he crumbled? Gaster was disgusted at the faults of reality._

_The human was passed out below him, but they shivered and shook still. Blood, crimson and warm, dripped onto the steel table.The steady clink of iron made Gaster giggle. Laugh._

_Outright guffaw at it all. Here he was, turning to dust because of an irrelevant science experiment and the ever-underwhelming abilities of determination on monsters._

_Gaster was laughing at the end of his life and no one was there to hear it._

_\---_

_[That was a lie, though the royal scientist would never know that for certain. A small, yellow monster watched from the shadows, father's lab coat in her claws.]_

_\---_

_So Dr. W.D. Gaster was turning to dust. It hadn't really set in for him yet, not fully. Gaster knew he was dying but his emotions were focused more on anger than sadness or fear. The determination obviously wasn't enough to support living without all of the user's soul present. How upsetting. But it was too late to take his soul out of the human now. They had begun merging together; rather violently, but merging nonetheless. Gaster hypothesized that the determination injection in both his own and the human's soul was helping to join them together quickly._

_[Dark]_

_His vision swam and the world danced a waltz around his head. Dust collected on the floor in a pile of bloodless ash. Perhaps he just needed more determination. Yes. That was it._

_[Darker]_

_The red liquid burned its way into the royal scientist's soul, scorching his bones as it went. The steady stream of dust spilling from his body didn't falter. He injected more determination, hoping that was the solution to his problem. The dust on the floor built up into a small pile and Gaster's soul shivered._

_[Yet Darker]_

_The monster couldn't see clearly. He knew that this was the end, but his determination was doing nothing to save him. Time passed by slowly, but when he glanced up at the clock, only a few seconds had passed. In a bout of sudden anger, Gaster smashed the clock's face._

_[The Darkness Keeps Growing]_

_The DT he'd been injecting for who knew how long was failing him. If it couldn't save him from himself, then what would? Gaster growled low in his throat, a bitter chill running down his spine. The younger human stirred restlessly._

_[The Shadows Cutting Deeper]_

_A machine to enter the void. It wasn't finished yet, but Gaster's gaze drifted to it anyway. The determination wasn't working to rebuild his soul, but the void existed outside all timelines and realities. If he were to go there..._

_[Photon Readings Negative]_

_The younger human was weak, coughing and groaning, but they were alive. Gaster didn't entirely expect them to ever wake up. Perhaps they, too, could live in an eternal state of almost dying. It would be rather humorous; a human and a monster dying constantly in a plane that didn't exist._

_The machine buzzed to life, protesting weakly at start-up. Gaster hadn't finished building it and the science behind it was inexact. He knew for certain it would take him somewhere, but was unsure if it would take him back._

_[This Next Experiment]_

_Fragile and dusting, Gaster took the younger human into his crumbling hands. He was interested to know what would happen next._

_[Seems]_

_A loud hum filled the room. The mechanic bumblebee song of the machine as it tore apart reality._

_[Very]_

_He might die this way, jumping into the void as he was, and so would the human child in his broken hands._

_[Very]_

_But he would definitely die if he stayed._

_[Interesting]_

_The void reached out to him and the dusting stopped. The human in his arms became dark and obsolete. Gaster spared a final glance at the real world before turning back to the silent nothingness of the void._

_[…]_

_The world grew dark._

_[What Do You Two Think?]_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't even started the next chapter yet ''''''  
> Anyway, comments always appreciated, thanks!


	25. What Is Collecting Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively titled: What Is Determined
> 
> The void is complicated.

Sans regarded the shadowy blob that was Dr. Gaster with a mixture of caution and anger. "My brother," he began, but didn't finish. The unspoken question hung in the air for a moment before the doctor's response came. 

(Your brother is fine, all things considered. You understand, of course, that it would be nearly impossible for him to returned to reality.) The white mask Gaster had for a face didn't shift as he spoke. 

"Nearly," Sans was determined. He had a brother, Papyrus, who he could finally remember. The human wasn't willing to back down quite yet. 

Gaster glitched around, (All the progress I made on the machine in the previous timeline was reset when the void pulled you in. Unfortunately, we will have to start building it from scratch again.) 

The lab was dusty [like the machine like the doctor's soul like the memories in Sans' head]. The brother watched the particles of dirt flutter about in the nonexistent breeze before turning back to the character who shouldn't quite exist. "The machine didn't work last time." 

(It did,) the monster stared forward, darkness his eyes, (However, I didn't account for the pull the void would create. You recall when I explained the source of discoloration in your left eye?) Sans nodded slowly, remembering the doctor's experiment, (The void is unique in that it doesn't quite exist. In that way, neither do I. Because my soul was implanted into your own, it was pulled towards the void. Things that don't exist, truly, are naturally drawn together in order to prevent paradoxes. Which, I might add, you are. 

(I underestimated the void's pull, and you walked straight into it. Really, you should be thanking me,) Sans scoffed under his breath, still bitter over the memories he regained, (I managed to forcibly reset using the powers you haven't used yet. Had you entered the void you would have become just like me, Sans. A forgotten blip on the radar of reality.) 

Shifting on his feet, Sans stared into the doctor's hollow eyes unflinching. An idea was forming in the back of his mind. "What makes you think the machine will work better this time around?" The human hesitantly asked. His mind was wandering elsewhere. 

Gaster looked away, (I'll have to work on the design. Perhaps more determination would help.) The monster spiraled off into a collection of ideas and speculations for his project, (It might be best if you could get to the save screen. Seeing as controlling time like that is against the rules of reality...) 

Ignoring the quiet rantings of the doctor, Sans slowly proceeded around the lab. The stacks of papers on the floor weren't knocked around and smudged. Instead, the files were neatly stacked to one side, as if someone had been reading them recently and had pulled them aside for easier access. Sans' multicolored eyes flashed up to the doctor. He couldn't have moved the papers... Gaster was incapable of interacting with the real world as far as Sans knew. 

The ex-royal scientist was glaring down harshly at the human, but seemed to chuckle darkly. He inched forward. (I'm growing stronger.) He calmly stated, briefly flashing his gaze to the pile of papers. There was really no point in hiding much around the human anymore. (I may have enough magic of my own to do certain... actions soon. But not soon enough. Not to mention, if you don't help with the machine, then your brother will never be saved.) 

Sans' fingers twitched into a fist that shook weakly by his sides, twisting the fabric of his pants. "You keep talking about him, Papyrus," the name fell off of his tongue, and Sans shook at the thought of how foreign the name really was to him, "You keep telling me to hurry for him. To act for him. But you still haven't let me see him or hear him. Everything you say about Papyrus could be a lie and I wouldn't even know." 

It was Gaster's turn to twitch in discomfort. (Ah. I can see how this may be a problem for you. However unfortunate it may be, I cannot let you see your brother just yet.) 

Sans raised an eyebrow. 

(He was very unwell when he entered the void. I am unsure if he could currently survive much at this point.) Gaster supplied. 

"Well then what's the point?" Sans shook in weakly concealed rage, "Build the machine and Papyrus dies? Don't build the machine and Papyrus dies? None of these options are working for me, doc." 

(I imagined you would rather try to bring him back than to do nothing at all?) Sans shifted so Gaster continued, (Your brother's being a human likely helps his chances as well. Before the void swallowed us, I injected your brother with a potent dose of determination. On monster souls, determination doesn't do much, but on a human soul the effects of DT could be significant. 

(Time control is a definite benefit that never worked for me, but you seem to have access to. Human souls are peculiar, and I'd love to study them more. Theoretically, a human soul with enough determination could do just about anything.) 

An idea formed in Sans' mind. It started as a small idea and ended up as a small rebellion. Against what, he wasn't sure. The doctor? Monsterkind? Himself? It was hard to tell. But Sans had a brother, and he was determined to save him. 

\--- 

Alphys didn't show up at the lab that day. Sans suspected it was because he was a day or two early, but her absence may also have been caused by the fact that Sans shut himself into the lab, not even thinking about the door while there. The doctor, Gaster, proposed that Sans get to work on the machine in order to bring both himself and Papyrus back from the void, but the human was hesitant. 

The problem was that Sans had an idea. Oftentimes, his ideas worked out, but this one was rather risky. There was some determination vials in the back of the lab, the true lab. Sans had spotted them briefly before, though they were trivial enough to overlook at the time. But then the Dr. Gaster had explained the properties of the crimson substance. 

Sans was curious, but not stupid. The determination burned terribly the first time, and he couldn't imagine it would feel great if he were to inject it again. Sans wasn't stupid, but he was a bit reckless, if only for a good reason. DT was dangerous, but the doctor had given him a short break before they were to start work on the machine. Something about fragile human bodies or something. Sans wasn't sure. The human guessed Gaster just wanted to preserve strength in order to control his body more. [Sans had finally grown used to the silence; the lack of constant (stop)(starting) of the doctor's magic moving his body through the motions. A quiet urging to listen to the doctor when he wasn't there.] 

Sans had the time, the means, and a mission to complete. The problem was how to go about it. The doctor was stronger now more than ever, and Sans still didn't trust him. Determination vials were glowing red in the palm of the human's hand, unmoving but still there. His brother, living in the void, but maybe just dying there. And Sans, planning but quiet still. 

The oldest brother's plan was about as reckless as they got. If determination was capable of anything when in a human's soul, then who was to say Sans could enter the void without the machine? And what could stop Sans from saving his brother from the cold grip of nothingness and prying him out with that determination? 

Sans looked at the red vials in his hands. 

\--- 

[Red was the color that burned through Sans' veins and arteries. Red was the color that scorched his insides and tore a scream from his throat. Red was the color of determination. And Sans was. Red was the color that made the world around him lose it. Color, that was. The world grew dark around Sans, then darker. Darker still until the world was a shade of black that felt photoshopped out of existence. All things considered, that was probably for the best, seeing as the human's goal was to located the void, a place that didn't exist. 

Sans moved his arms around the darkness despite the claustrophobia that tickled his skin. His arms felt odd, the human realized. Numb, but compliant. Warm, but wet. His left eye was glowing a faint blue color and the occasional burst of yellow helped him to see. The human didn't look down at them. 

But he did look around. Mostly looking for his brother, but also for the doctor. The darkness that was the void made it hard to see much, and the lack of anything made it difficult to judge distances. Despite everything, Sans still looked. He looked despite the numbness that was spreading up his arms and tickling his face. 

A faint glow of white caught Sans' eye from somewhere else in the void and Sans moved towards it. He didn't walk, but he also didn't float. It was like moving through the motions; you knew you had done something, but you didn't recall actually doing it. 

By the time the human looked up from the darkness all around him Sans had reached his destination (or lack there of). Sleeping, or perhaps just still, was the small white figure in the gloom. A... skeleton? Sans blinked. Surely that wasn't..? 

"Your brother?" The voice chilled him, "Yes." 

Jumping, Sans turned to see the doctor, more whole than he expected, watching carefully. "Wh-what? This is a skeleton. Like—like you..?" 

Gaster didn't appear to move, but he was much closer to the pair than he had been moments before, "I have a few theories on the matter. For one, I suspect our joining the void at the same time may have merged us somewhat. Another theory I have been contemplating is that he merely decomposed, but the void and DT kept him alive. 

"Though I will admit, I did not expect you to inject that much determination into yourself to forcefully enter the void. I suspected you might but I suppose some part of me still believed you might just build the machine." 

Something dripped down Sans' cheek and it wasn't black, like he was used to. It also didn't originate from his eye like he expected. Instead, the goop was... red? And the color of his skin? Shivers shook Sans' frame despite the lack of cold. The lack of feeling in his now numb body. 

"The other theory I had," the doctor continued, unconcerened with Sans' rising panic," as to your brother's decomposition was the determination injection. You see, I've noticed that when one becomes too determined too fast, they begin to... fall apart, for a lack of better words. This is why you shouldn't have gotten into my things, human. Who knows what could happen." 

Skin and blood spilled down Sans' face which was quickly becoming just bone and raw nerve endings. Sinewy chunks slapped harshly against the human's legs as the tumbled out of his stomach. A quiet sob escaped Sans, not because of the pain (he couldn't feel anything) but because of the cold numbness that took over his body. 

"You should have just listened to me, Sans. Though I suppose you could stay here with me for eternity." Gaster looked down, towering over the shriveling human, "Unless you'd like to try again? I'm sure we could find you some determination somewhere." 

Sans shook from the weight of his decisions. "N-no." 

"I'm sorry?" 

Standing slightly, Sans glanced back at the still form of his maybe-dead brother. Dust was building on Papyrus' arms like the dust had collected on everything else Sans knew. Back at the lab, there was an old, broken clock that collected only dust now. His brother needed him. There was really no other hope for the poor kid; he sat in the void perpetually dying and perpetually living and never being remembered. Gaster couldn't build the machine and no one left trusted him enough to build it for him. And Sans was determined. 

Gaster seemed taken aback when the melting human reached out for his brother's hand, effectively pulling him to his feet. The younger child stumbled a bit, but retained his footing. Papyrus didn't m/ove, but Sans could still feel some semblance of life in the boy. His soul wavered in his chest upside-down like the monster he now was—the now were. 

"What are you doing, human?" Gaster asked, glitching forward a few paces, "There is no possible way for you to leave, let alone with a passenger. If you had only waited to build the machine then—hey! What are you—!" 

The red determination moved through Sans' bones as his skin and organs dripped noisily somewhere below. The definition of determination was 'firmness of purpose; resoluteness.' The substance determination gave the ability to complete any purpose that needed completion. "I just," Sans choked out, trying to ignore the stench of melting flesh, "I just want to save my brother!" 

Something ticked away quietly. (19/19) 

Sans would really give anything to save his brother. (17/17) 

The darkness around the children faded slowly. (15/15) 

The doctor yelled in disbelief or anger. (13/13) 

The darkness only stayed for him. (11/11) 

Sans shook. His health depleted quickly in equal sacrifice for something no one fully comprehended. (09/09) 

While the older brother grew weaker, they younger began to shake with newly found strength. (07/07) 

The lab came into focus. (05/05) 

Sans looked down at his hands. (03/03) 

There was only bone now. (01/01)] 

Papyrus looked up wearily, but his eye lights were dimmed with confusion. "Sans?" His voice was like Sans imagined he might remember it as, "Where are we?" 

His voice seemed to lack much enthusiasm, likely drained by his escape from the void. His older brother rushed to his side, despite the numbness that drained his body. "Doesn't matter," he supplied. It appeared as though his brother didn't remember the lab. "Uh," Sans continued, cautiously, "You wouldn't happen to recall Dr. Gaster? Would you?" 

"Who?" Papyrus stood up in a burst of newfound energy, "Are you alright, Sans? You're worrying me." 

Sans laughed slightly while pocketing an entry badge he found on the dusty floor of the lab. He wasn't sure what else to expect. Of course his brother would lose his memories. Because in a word, the void was complicated. 

Wincing slightly as he stepped, Sans reached a small pile of papers. A photograph lie on top of him and Alphys. He frowned at the picture. Blurs of dark, smiling figures stood behind them and next to the machines. Their eyes followed him. 

Below the photo were miscellaneous files Sans didn't pretend to understand. The human had left Gaster behind, but turning back to look at his brother reassured him. With curious eyes, Papyrus followed Sans' motions and he pulled out a pen and drew a hasty sketch on the back of one of the papers. 

"Don't forget?" The younger skeleton read from over Sans' shoulder, "What aren't you forgetting?"   
Sans heaved out a sigh. "Doesn't matter, Pap." He held his brother close, hiding a wince at the sound of their bones clanking against each other. "Let's get out of here, yeah?" 

Papyrus only smiled in response. 

Somewhere in Snowdin, there was a house better fitted for two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that whole fic was a mistake. Oh well hahahaha (dies on the inside)  
> Anyway! This is over now I guess???? Thanks for reading it, those of you who did! I appreciate all of you that actually put up with this piece of crap. Also I really like countdowns apparently???? Longer chapter bc I didn't feel like splitting it into two.
> 
> UPDATE: on the whole sequel front, that is. I've been doing some thinking and there will likely NOT be a sequel to this. Honestly, I really do not like the storyline for this whole thing and would be much more comfortable starting an entirely different story. Which is exactly what I'm going to do. Basically, if your'e only here for the sequel, I'm sorry but there won't be one. I will be writing another story though. I like the plot I've got planned out for it atm but I'm actually not a big fan of the human skeleton bros thing. Hope this is okay with everyone. It will still be UT though. It will mainly be about Sans again, bc he's my favorite character, but this one should have a bit more going on than this trainwreck.
> 
> I have a few working titles for the fic atm. They are as follows:  
> .His Joke; For the Audience of Dust  
> .The Joke  
> .How to Adapt: A Guide by Someone Who's Doing it Wrong  
> Any preferences?
> 
> Anyway! Thank you all! Comments always appreciated and thanks again.  
> AfH


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